United States. Army. Signal Corps

“ When a number of stations are in view from one station and it is desired to send a message to all or more than one station, some preconcerted signal, as a rocket, a red light, or some peculiar flag or torch signal, should be designated as a signal for general attention. ”

“ Although no one knows just what helps homing pigeons find their loft, it is possible that the great sensitiveness of their ears enables them to receive magnetic and atmospheric impression, and thereby to determine direction either at departure or during flight. ”

“ When a signal station is to communicate with two or more stations, a telescope should be firmly fixed bearing on each, when practicable, and so far apart that those communicating with one station will not disturb the other party. ”

“ The main tail feathers act as a rudder in flight, controlling the bird’s direction. Flying is possible because every flight feather overlaps, presenting a solid surface on the downbeat of the wing. Besides, flight feathers provide lift and pull for the bird’s propulsion. On the upbeat of the wing, the large flight feathers rotate in such a manner as to cut through the air with little resistance, and at the same time to permit escape of air. ”

“ In most systems of signals suitable for military use, each signal is composed of one or more separate units, known as elements. Having prescribed a certain number of elements, the various signals are formed by having these elements appear singly or together in different arrangements or combinations. The continental system is one of two elements, namely the dot and the dash, while the Morse system employs three elements, the dot, the dash, and the space. Having agreed upon a certain number of combinations of elements, a system of signals is formed by giving a meaning to each combination. ”

“ Introduction to Pigeon Training It is almost impossible to prescribe any one method for training homing pigeons. There are certain steps, however, that must be followed if the birds are to give reliable messenger service. The methods for training Army homing pigeons are prescribed in this section. However, they are not the only methods by which birds can be trained. Success with the birds depends largely on the individual pigeoneer’s experience and technical knowledge. This is particularly true concerning operation of combat lofts. ”

“ Stock for breeding at a loft should be selected with the advice of the pigeon expert in charge of breeding. The pigeoneer who desires to become an expert in the art of breeding pigeons is encouraged to study additional literature on this subject. The pedigree for at least two generations is used to determine probable qualities of future youngsters since it shows family, strain, and kind of flying in which the birds excel, as well as the performance of other youngsters produced by the same parent. ”

“ The power of a telescope or a field glass can more accurately be measured by means of a dynameter, which is a microscope which can be fitted over the eyepiece end of the instrument, and which magnifies the image. ”

“ Feed pigeons twice a day during training, light feeding in the morning and heavier in the evening. After each exercise, training, or other flight, call the pigeons into the loft and give them a small quantity of feed as a reward. While the pigeons are taking their morning exercise, clean the loft and place in it a fresh supply of grit and drinking water. Call the birds in when they have completed their exercises, then scatter the food slowly on the sand-covered floor as the birds enter through the trap. ”

“ Having chosen a point entirely in view of the station or stations to be communicated with, and having fixed the exact position of the signaling apparatus, the color of the background should be determined as carefully as conditions of terrain will permit. If the elevation of the distant station is without doubt greater than that of the home station it is safe to assume that the color of the background will be that of the objects directly around and behind it. On the other hand, if the distant station unquestionably occupies the lower position, a sky exposure will usually result. ”

“ Another reason for scattering feed in small quantities is to prevent the pigeons from picking out the kinds of grain they particularly like and leaving those which contain food elements they need for proper development. Pigeons always drink immediately after feeding. When the first pigeon stops eating and takes a drink, it is a sign that the pigeons have had enough food so do not scatter any more grain. ”

“ When brought in contact, the oxygen in the water decomposes the calcium in the carbide, and in this decomposition the hydrogen in the water is liberated and unites with the carbon of the carbide, forming a hydrocarbon gas which is acetylene. It is a pure white light of intense brilliancy and high candlepower. The spectrum analysis of acetylene shows that it is almost identical with sunlight, and in consequence delicate shades of color appear according to their true value as under the light of the sun, consequently it penetrates fog to a greater distance than other lights. ”

“ It is of the utmost importance that pigeons used for delivering messages trap promptly. A bird may be the fastest flyer in the loft yet be useless because it will not trap immediately upon return to the loft. The message cannot be removed from the pigeon’s leg if the bird stays on the roof of the loft instead of entering the trap. For this reason it is essential that trapping exercises be carefully carried out. The best time for this training is when birds are being settled. ”

“ To find a signalman near any known station, note with the unaided eye some prominent landmark near which the looked-for person or object is supposed to be, and direct the telescope upon the place, as sight is taken over a gun barrel, covering the object; if the eye is now placed at the eyeglass of the telescope, the prominent or directing landmark will be found in the field of view. ”

“ Settling Pigeons Settling is the process of conditioning a pigeon to return to its home loft when released. Best results can be expected from young birds just out of the nest because settling and resettling become more difficult as the age of the pigeon increases. Many different methods are used to settle pigeons to lofts, and no ironclad rules can be set down to cover all situations. The age of the birds, type of loft, and experience of the pigeoneer will determine the method used and success achieved. ”

“ When recourse to any method of sight signals can not be had on account of weather conditions or lack of suitable apparatus, sound signals may often be advantageously used. The commoner means of furnishing sound signals are the horn and the whistle, though many other kinds of apparatus are practicable. The necessary elements of any system can be indicated by one short, two shorts, and a long blast. ”

“ This usually enables the youngsters to hatch within 1 hour of each other, and gives each one an equal chance. The youngster from the first egg will be much larger than the other if the parent birds start to hover at the time the first egg is laid. Fertility is indicated if the egg becomes a light bluish color after 10 days, or if it shows blood lines after 5 days when held up to the sun’s rays. Do not destroy the first pair of eggs as it is generally believed that they often produce the best youngsters of that year. ”

“ Field glasses with low magnifying power, which are usually preferred by ordinary observers, have their chief value in the comparatively extensive field of view; they should be used to observe extensive movements, where large tracts of country must be taken in one field of view or in sweeping the landscape to find the tents of the enemy, their wagons, etc., or other objects, to be afterwards more closely examined with the telescope. ”

“ A combat loft is moved daily during training so that the birds do not become accustomed to one location. Otherwise settling to a combat loft is the same as settling to any other loft.
a. Settling birds not strong on wing. The expression “not strong on the wing” means that pigeons do not have sufficient strength in their wings to stay in the air for sustained flight, for example, youngsters removed from the nest when 28 to 36 days old. These young pigeons are tame and easy to handle; they are not as excitable as older birds because their sense of fear has not yet developed. ”

“ The telescope is an optical instrument based on an object glass or reflector to form a real image of a real and distant object, and of an ocular to magnify and view the image. Telescopes are classified as refracting or reflecting according as the object glass is a lens or a reflector. The object glass must be essentially convex if the telescope is a refractor, and if a reflector, the object mirror must be concave ”

“ Wait until the pigeons have eaten nearly all the feed before distributing another handful. The feed should be well scattered so that individual birds do not get all of the choice grains. No harm is done if the pigeons eat some of the sand, providing it is clean, as sand supplements grit as an aid to digestion. There are several reasons why pigeons should be fed only a handful at a time. If the whole amount of grain for one feeding is thrown on the floor at once, the actual amount needed cannot be estimated exactly. If the amount estimated was too little, the pigeons are underfed ”

“ No advice or fixed rule can be stated as to what constitutes the most suitable characteristics of a field glass. No single field glass can furnish maximum results under all conditions on account of varying conditions of the atmosphere. ”

“ Health of the pigeon is dependent on proper care. Overcrowding of birds should be avoided at all times. Good loft sanitation and ventilation, together with proper diet and uncontaminated drinking water, are factors in health that are under the control of the pigeoneer. He is therefore largely responsible for the over-all health of pigeons in his loft. ”

“ When light falls on a transparent body, part is reflected and part is refracted. The angle which the ray makes with the normal, or perpendicular, to the surface at the point of contact is known as the angle of incidence, and the angles which the reflected and refracted rays make with the same normal are known respectively as the angle of reflection and refraction. ”

“ Care should be taken during flight training not to overtrain the birds. Such training does more harm than good, particularly if long distances are involved. Overtraining can be detected by the slightly dizzy, sleepy, and unbalanced appearance of the birds while resting. When this condition occurs, allow the pigeon to rest for a few days with open loft but no forced exercise. ”

“ It is time gained to do so; it is a loss of time and an annoyance to run letters together. Nothing so distinguishes the good from the indifferent operator, visual or telegraph, as this. When signals are being made with a flag, a fraction of a second will be ample. In using the lantern or heliograph, the pause between letters should be relative to the time of display of the elements, longer than with the flag. To prevent any entangling of the flag upon its staff, skillful handling, acquired by practice, is necessary. ”

“ In order to combat lice properly and intelligently, it is necessary to know something about where and how they feed, live, and breed.
(a) Adult lice live on the skin and feathers of the bird and only rarely leave the pigeon. When accidentally dislodged, they crawl very short distances to other birds. Lice cannot live longer than a few days away from the birds. ”

“ Movement imparted by these screws to the mirror does not disturb the alignment, as its center (the unsilvered spot) is at the intersection of the axes of revolution. Extra care bestowed upon preliminary adjustment is repaid by increased brilliancy of flash. With the alignment absolutely assured and the "shadow spot" at the center of the disk, the axis of the cone of reflected rays is coincident with the line of sight and the distant station receives the greatest intensity of light. Remember the distant observer is unquestionably the better judge as to the character of the flash received ”

“ If properly trained, however, pigeons will return to their loft from reasonable distances in any direction. A return flight from a direction different from the trained line of flight would be called a nondirectional flight. The speed from nondirectional flights will usually be slower and less reliable than from directional flights. This is particularly true when the pigeon must fly from the opposite direction of the trained line of flight. For nondirectional flights to be reliable, pigeons should be given training tosses from varying distances from all points of the compass. ”

“ The assignment of men should be such that a continuous watch for signals is kept and the responsibility for neglect to promptly answer calls determined. Of the station men, one is the sender, whose duty it is to transmit all signals to contiguous stations. Another, the receiver, attends the telescope and reads and calls off the signals displayed at the distant station. A third man acts as recorder, alternately calling off the outgoing message to the sender or transcribing the incoming message repeated by the receiver. ”

“ After combat birds have been moved into a stationary position and have been flown from this location, it is desirable to train them to mobility again before moving them into a new location. This process is called remobiling and can best be accomplished by moving the loft only a few feet at a time until the pigeons again become accustomed to having it moved. The birds will seem quite nervous and a few may settle on the ground or fail to enter the loft the first few times it is moved. The birds should become accustomed to searching for the loft regardless of its location. ”

“ Dark backgrounds are far more common and more easily obtainable than sky exposures. They afford the maximum means of concealment from hostile observation, but materially reduce the range, speed, and accuracy of signal transmission. ”

“ Pigeons should not refuse food unless they have just been fed. They will be alert, active, happy, and much more manageable if kept a little hungry. It is easy to overfeed pigeons so that they become sluggish and listless. Many good pigeons have been spoiled by overfeeding. The pigeoneer should hand-feed the birds and watch them closely while they are eating because their appetite reflects their general health and condition. Sick birds may be discovered by their failure to eat. ”

“ Visual signaling is and always will be a most valuable means of transmitting information [10] in peace and war, and it is not to be imagined that it will ever be supplanted in its particular function by the introduction of other methods. Occasions will frequently occur in the field when no other means will be practicable, and then, if not before, will the value of the system be fully emphasized. ”

“ The first step in training homing pigeons for messenger service is to develop the health and strength necessary to endure sustained flight. This process is called conditioning. The degree of training necessary to condition the birds will vary with the mission for which they are being trained. Birds that will be required to fly long distances will necessarily be given longer and more intensive training than birds that will be required to fly only short distances. ”

“ The Chief Signal Officer of the Army reserves the right to inspect any or all processes of manufacture, and unsatisfactory material will be marked for rejection by the inspector before, during, or after assembly, as occasion may arise.
Each glass will be tested for power, field, definition, and light. Any glass which is not the equal of the sample and model in all respects will be rejected. ”

“ Flight training begins as soon as the loft is established near the headquarters to be served. Until this time, however, the birds are not given any training tosses. They are, of course, fully settled to the loft and have been taking daily exercise flights around the loft at each new location to which the loft has been moved. Give the birds their first exercise flight shortly after establishing the new location. After the birds have had a brief rest they are given their first training toss. If weather permits, group toss the birds many times each day thereafter. ”