PIGEON NOTES.

Evening Star, Issue 14523, 26 November 1910, Page 11

PIGEON NOTES.

[By The Antwerp.]

Questions relating to pigeon-breeding , etc., requiring answer must be sent to “ Antwerp,” care of this office, not later than noon of Thursday, in order to secure attention the same week.

If every man who entered the pigeon fancy made a euccots of it, there would not bo enough automobiles to go round. It seems so strange when tho average citizen who enters tho fancy is so easily made to alter his mind. For instance, in building a loft ho builds his loft fairly well. Of course, there arc a few cracks, which he will tell you are for ventilation. He has not had time to linxewash the loft yet, but will do it next week, if he has time. Be next fixes up his trap. The size is all right. He puts in eight bolting wires, but a friend tells him not to put in eight wires, as four arc plenty, and it leaves more room for the birds to come in. Tho loft is a 1 rather fine affair, divided into throe, and it I is desired to get one part linished lirst, so | as to enable him to get bis youngsters housed in. Well, in duo time tho youngsters arrive, and one ran imagine with what pride he carries them to his loft, carefully looking at each bird and telling bk friend j tho breeding of each of them. In tho morning he looks at and feeds the birds, and on returning at midday makes straight for his loh, and lo and behold! tin: birds have tlown. That trap that Ids friend had him alter has been the cause. Just as soon as the birds saw the trap they made a bee- , lino for it, got out quite easily, and, get- i ting their freedom for the first time in their lives, they took wing, and maybe are still on ‘the wing. lu the interval race from .Invercargill last Saturday fairly good time was registered, considering the weather conditions. The winner turned up in Air B. Umbers’s bird, with Air Glark'a bird second and Mr Hunt’s . bird third. (

On Thursday night fifty-three birds were penneil up for tho flock face from Wellington to-day, representing twelve lofts. Given a clear day, the birds should be able to make the journey in about ton houi.s.

.Several of tho bird# which were in the Cape Campbell nice are arriving home, some showing evident signs of having been taught and kept in very small boxes. It is a great pity some of the people who detain these birds could not he caught. I never believe m decrying a bird not making his homo on the day of toss. It tho bird battles through it shows that it has the pluck to home. I f a census was taken of the fancy pigeon population of the world, the tumbler, including till the sub-varieties, such as the short faces, clean legs, muffs, parlor tumblers, flying rollers, and Oriental ■rollers, would probably be found near the front in point of numbers compared with other varieties. This, and tho fact that there are so many sub-varieties, which have taken years to arrive at their present state o,f perfection, shows how popular tbe tumbler in some form not only is, but has bocjt for many years. There is one branch of tills large family, .and the branch which most likely shows the tumbler blood in its greatest purity, if wo are to accept the belief of some that they are of Oriental origin, and that is the flying roller. In this country I don’t know of a single pair of these birds. I well remember the first pair of pigeons I over owned were a pair of flying rollers, presented lo mo by a well-known fax icier of Sheffield (Mr W. Barlow). There are several types of rollers, and there, arc, of course, good, bad, and in-

different individuals of their respective typos. Tho impression seems lo prevail that to be a good roller a bud must roll a hundred feet or more, otherwise it is classed as “ordinary tumbler.” Tins is not so. There are good short rollers, good medium rollers, and good long rollers, and a really good bird belonging to any one of the three classes is worthy the name of roller. Afore length of roll should by no means govern entirely tho worth of a roller. Flying qualities, speed and execution of roll, finish and recovery after tho roil, and also “when” to roll are more important. To my mind a long roller carries with it not only a danger of its being lulled by rolling too far when just starting up or when coming down, but also the danger that is likely to lead the fancier, and particularly the young fancier, owning it into the holier that ho would like to have more, and in gaining tho (joint soon finds out that ho has done so at the expense of flying qualities. This interest in rollers soon wanes, and generally tho next move is to give them up as a bad job. But if in tho hands of experienced fanciers length of roll becomes more a matter of individual taste, and also has to bo governed somowliat by circumstances, if one wishes to mould a kit of rollons into a machine that gives the greatest pleasure under the conditions ho must fly them. After a certain (xiiut llvff-- qualities, as a rule, must be sacri, ficed if long rolling is desired. The deeper a bird rolls the greater demand on its energy, so it cannot be expected that a kit composed largely of deep rotters will fly as long as a kit composed of short or medium rollers, and so on. If tho individual taste demands flying of some length of time, one had better not go in for tho long rollers, if long flying is of no particular consequence, and you are after the fireworks, then it is long rollers.