Beeton's book of poultry and domestic animals - Thurman Lodge ...

THE TTJMBLEB. PIGEON.
strutting on its toes as if it were walkiiig tiptoe to make the
most of itself.
As regardls feather, the same rules apply to the short-faced
as to the other sorts. For the following directions as to th£
way in which a " flight " of tumblers should be trained, we are
indebted to Mr. B. P. Brent, published by that gentleman in
his admirable little " pigeon-book " :
" Procure, if possible, a few high-flying birds, to train the
young ones to rise high when out. This is of much importance,
and will save much trouble. The flying tumblers should
be kept in a roomy loft by themselves. A trap, or area, as 1
have before described, is indispensable, in order to manage the
pigeons sucoessfally. Once a day they should be turned out
to fly ; the fore part of the day is the best, as, when the sun
shines too hot, they do not fly so willingly. When in practice^,
they will mount at once high into the sky, occasionally clapping
their wings, and turning over backwards till they rise to their
full height or " pitch," often going quite out of sight, but
keeping pretty much over their abode. They will thus con-
tinue on the wing for two or three hours ; when they begin to
descend, they tumble very much. When down they should be
enticed in, and kept confined for the rest of the day, and not
allowed to loiter about outside, or associate with other pigeons.
Their loft should be made as comfortable as possible, and be
provided with everything they require,—such as clean wster,
a bath, the well-filled hopper, a salt-cat, grits, green foou, and
materials for nesting, so as to prevent any desire to roam
about, when out, to obtain these enjoyments ; if not, it will
soon be found that, instead of flying ofl at once, and mounting
high in the air, they will make for some roof, or other spot,
where they can find that for which they are longing ; therefore,
it is of great importance to remove any temptation, by supplying
all their vants in their own loft. By this means, they wiU
at once soar when let out, though, perhaps, at first it may be
necessary to drive them up, by waving a flag, or otherwise
frightening them. A few used to high-flying assist much in
teaching the young ones, as they become strong on the wing,
to soa " ; but it is very difficult, or almost impossible, to teach
those that have long been accustomed to fly about at random,
to fly high regularly. The best way to proceed with such is,
after they are accustomed to the place, to send them off by a
servant to the distance of half a mile or so, while the otheri
are out ; they will then most likely rise very high and join
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