A to Z of Pigeons and Bantams #227356

The Advance of the Industry From the Fancy as Well as squab-producing Birds. Several years ago the country had what was called a Pigeon craze, and many thousands of people who knew nothing about the business invested heavily and lost heavily. The result was hundreds of thousands of birds were put on the market and sold for whatever was offered. The market was flooded and the business was looked upon as a farce. But thanks be to the men who stood by the guns and had confidence that when the sur plus stock was exhausted the business would be on a staunch basis. This proved to be the result, and to-day we have many successful pigeon plants, and the product in the way of squabs commands as steady and high a price as when the craze was on. From a fancy point of view the growth of the business has been different. Its growth was steady; new men went into the busi ness for sport and pleasure as well as for profit. Specialty clubs doubled their membership; the exhibits at the shows increased, and interest seemed to run as high as in poultry. Prices for good show specimens commanded as high a figure as poultry. The business advanced slowly but surely, and to — day Pigeons are one of the leading features of our fall and winter exhibitions.