HOMING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2757, 16 January 1907, Page 32

HOMING NOTES.

(Bi Matjsta Mealy.) Xovioe. — The youngster is evidently weakly, the result of bring starved in the nc^t. Wh"n you fount! one squab was thriving at the oxpe-rse of tho other, you should have put the smaller one under another pair •with a younster-its own size, failing this you should havo filled the younster night and morning with soaked peas. The clumsiness of the le^s is a sure sign of weakness, and in a racing loft >oung-ters showing weakness should certainly be suppressed. Always pleaded to advise beginners. Anxious.— Assume from your description that the lump is outside the lower part of beak and not inside. It is either a, canker growth or a small tumour. It ari<*es in cither case from a htt'e disorder of th-e blood. Feed on good peas, stop any heating foods, and give a dose of s^lts dry, about enough to cover a shilling, occasionally, if the growth causes troub'e paint with caustic pencil. Op:nioiis differ about it be.ng contagious. \\e don't think it ie. lli-e rhiir-tchuuh Homing Pigeon Socoty flew off a ia<:-e from \api"i- on Satnrdav, December 29 Thinj-foui buds were sent, representing 15 owners. Tlie birds were liberated at 4.45 a.m., in fine weather, with a oast wind. On th^ir journ-ey home, hew ever, they had a strong «.outh-vW'»t wind to [ace. which caused the birds to make a. -low \t-locitv. Ths winner proved to be Mr J. Peale's Colonial, uhuh tiaversed the diwtanc of 352 miles 3403' d, air line, in 141ir 28min 52v?c. The Society desires to thank Mr Watei worth, of Napier, for kindly attending to and liberating th-e bud* The | follow, inp w tho rpsult:— .l Scale's Colonial, ] 713.1 d pt'i* niinuU-, 1; F. Chambers Kobin Hood 703\ J. 2: F. Kinsjford'-. Catoaux, 703yi1. 3: \V. TuriibiiH'a Advocate 702 yd ; A " <:e,ald\ Sati-faction 6S9y«J , W. B. PiMti's KftJe-ewaic 696 yd: .1. Porter's Lord | (iowne, 69b>d; J. i»ratt\ Thurso, 696 yd. | The Canterbury FKinpr Cl'ib fl<--w a raca fi'ora Auckland on DccrmLcr 22. N.no mem- j bers sent 24 bird.-, which were taken charge, of and 'iberated ;it 4.25 a m. by Mr W. | Fri< kor. The weather all through the Lslaiid j was good and clear The club lias tried to fly from Auckland for »»ome iiiiip, but has! ne\ei succeeded within the race time. Thw ' year, however, Mr Brunt's Raveno did the distance of 487 miles 124 yd in 12hr 12imn 45« ec, being the first bird to fly Auckland to Christchurch in one day and put up » velocity of 1169|yd per minute. One of the finest performances put up by New Zealand birds was accomplished in the ' fly from Napi-er to Christchurch on December 29. The bird* were liberated by Mr Wdterworth at 445 a.m.. clear weather, uith v->uth-pd*t wind to face. Midway between Napier and Wellington the birds en- < our. to i <.'d a strong south-wew gale ar.d rain Fortunato'y for them the rain did not extend far -south, althougli the wind wa,< very | ••trong and severely tested the mettle of the bj*\sfijj» XJhq fijgt bird timed took lAiir

28min, doing a shade over 700 yd per minute. The race, considering the hard struggle, was a close one, and any bird that homed in the day ahould be treasured: by its owner as being 1 worth a, hundred untried ones. The performance of Mr G. Brunt's bird in the Canterbury Club's race from Auckland wa^ a fine one, and proves the bird to be in a class quite out of the common run 'of homing pigeons. I am sorry to say, however, that a number of old, experienced birds quite failed *to sustain their reputations, and are still away. Perhaps they were unfortunate and experienced bad weather on the journey, Mr Brunt's bird having struck a different Una for home and got through. The only arrivals reported since Mr. Brunt's is Mr E. Smith's bird, that flow Auckland last year, and a bird belonging to Mr Muechamp. Mr Brunt's winner is a combination of 'Mjits" blood, obtained from Shaw, of Port Pirie, Higson's ''Soffi" blood, obtained from Gits, of Antwerp, and a dash of Kerr's strain. The Dtmedin Homing Club's Napier race, flown last Saturday, had only eight entries — Me.srs Holmes, four birds; Gibson, two; Paterson, one; McLeod. one. As none of the eight birds in the previous long races have been in the first flight it is possible they will exceed the three days allowance. However, I sincerely hope for their owners' sates they will put up a good performance and all reach home.