These pigeons are not the soft, cooing dove of fiction, but are beautiful in color and line, alert, strong, tight-feathered, athletic, gamebirds with bright, farseeing eyes and marvelous courage. They are used in war for carrying messages from the front trenches to the bases back of the lines, and 97 per cent of these messages, upon which either victory or defeat may hang, reach their destination.
A section of this man’s pigeon loft shows separate apartments for each pair of birds, painted alternately black and white.
The birds manifest the most intense loyalty to their mates, and he has raised thousands of them for the cause of the Government, and, as they can be utilized with equal advantage in peaceful pursuits, a certain means of revenue is thus opened to thousands of other breeders of these wonderful birds.
PLAN No. 562. RAISING SQUABS FOR PROFIT
A young married couple, who lived near a car line in the suburb of a western city, decided to engage in the raising of squabs, as the hotels and restaurants of the city afforded a permanent and profitable market for them.
Having secured a few birds, together with a book giving complete instructions as to their care, feeding, marketing, etc., they constructed suitable quarters for them, and determined that, above all things, they would keep their nests and grounds absolutely clean; which is a very important part of successful squab raising. They had ample space for their birds, gave them the best of care, and constantly watched every phase of their growth and breeding, so that, from less than a dozen birds, with which they started in the spring, they had more than 150 by fall, all strong, vigorous, healthy specimens.
They felt that they could spare a certain number for the market during the early winter, and these they prepared with the greatest care and cleanliness, so that they brought top prices, and resulted in a standing order from several of the leading hotels and cafes for all the squabs they could supply.
While their receipts from this source were only a little over $100 the first year, the second year brought them $350, the third year $600, and after that they could count on at least $1,000 a year net profit from their squabs, while the husband was earning a good salary as a salesman in the city.
PLAN No. 563. REVISING MANUSCRIPTS
A former newspaper man and publicity writer in a western city, who had written and revised many books, pamphlets, prospectuses, etc., became impressed with the fact that many persons who wished to become authors of short stories, serials, poetry and miscellaneous articles, were sadly lacking in the knowledge of how to prepare their manuscripts in such a way as to make them acceptable to publishers. He also realized that, even if they knew how to properly arrange their manuscripts, few, if any of them, knew the names, addresses and needs of the various magazines and other publications that accept certain classes of stories or articles.