The San Francisco call. [volume], August 24, 1912, Page 2, Image 2

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
2
GREAT BRITAIN'S RULER FOND OF PIGEON RACING
Everybody knows thai King George's
horse Pintadeau ran fourth In tho Derby
two weeks ago, but how many know
that the king won a big race last week.
asks the New York Sun. V_l y tew, one
may venture to say, for it was a pigeon
race.
King George, like his father before
him, is a keen pigeon racer. Indeed,
the royal raring pigeons seem to be
more successful than the royal race
horses.
Pigeon racing is a modern pastime in
the United Kingdom, dating back hardly
more than 30 years as a properly organ
ized sport. Today there is scarcely a
town or village in the country that bam
not a lon"g distance pigeon racing club
of its own. The sport is particularly
popular In the mining districts, where
the pigeon has taken the place of the
fighting bull terrier and the racing
whippet as the miners' favorite.
It was about 1893 that King George
became interested in racing and breed
ing pigeons. The late King Edward
had established a small but select loft
in Sandringham before this, but It was
not until 1899 that he was successful In
one of the pigeon classics.
This was the pigeon Grand National
from Lerwick to Sandringham. The
distance was 510 miles 1,705 yards, and
King Edward's first prize winner cov
ered the distance at a rate of 1,307
yards a minute, or nearly .5 miles an
hour. King George, then duke of York,
was third with a bird that ilew 1,252
yards a minute.
The pigeon loft at Sandringham Is
built on land taken from the beautiful
deer park which fills the landscape
from west to northwest. The famous
duck pool is situated about 500 yards
in front of the loft.
From the loft a magnificent view of
the surrounding country can be ob
tained, and herds of deer roam within
a few yards of the pigeon loft. In fact,
An English New Year Custom
The country people in New England
used to have a great many Interesting
ways of welcoming the new year, and
many oi then\are still kept xip. One of
the things they believed about new
year's was that If a woman was the
first person to enter a house on new
year's morning ft meant bad luok for
the whole household for an entire year.
A great many old darkies In the south
.em p&rt of the United States also be
lieve this. The English country people
also thought that when the head of a
Jiouse entered it for the first time on
New Year's morning he must have
something to bring in with him that he
had not* taken out. -
No Spectators Wanted
It is very seldom that the captain of a
sealing: vessel can be induced to take a
spectator with him. This is not because
the captain objects to any one watching
their movements, but because the ves
sels are usually full » nd space is both
limited and valuable. In addition to the
crew there are the hunters to be consw
ered, and should many seals be taken
the ship is loaded to its utmost capacity.
Indeed, if seals are speedily sighted and
in large numbers, even the coal is
thrown overboard to make room for the
skins. —
The ships return as soon as a Bun V*
cient number of seals have been caught.
Sometimes the vessel is back in harbor
again in a couple ot weeks, loaded to
the gunwale with as many as 30,000 or
40,000 seals, worth from $2.50 to U
apiece. The crew of a single vessel has
been knswn to capture as many as
20.000 seals In seven or eight days. Two
seasons ago the crew of the Neptune
secured 42,000 seals in 18 days, the pelts
not only filling the hold, but being piled
up on deck as well.
The watchers of the harbor know at
once whether a vessel has been success
ful; for it is the custom to hang a broom
aloft if the catch has been a particu
larly good one. Sometimes, however, the
steamer is unlucky, and after buffeting
about among the ice for a period of six
weeks returns with only enough skins
to pay bare expenses. The Southern
Cross, for instance, returned on May 3
last to St Johns with only 1,200 seals,
valued at $2,400, of which the crew of
170 men secured less than $5 apiece for
their seven weeks* work. As the ice
fields may be more than 100 miles in
breadth and of unknown length, the
sealer may be weeks running along the
edge of the field before the lookout de
tects the little dark spots which show
the presence of the prey. The annual
catch of seals runs well over 500,000,
and tho total value of tho industry to
Newfoundland is about $I,soo,ooo.—Wide
World Magazine.
•
A "Long" World
No shadow of pessimism had clouded
his young life until shortly after his
third birthday, when his vaccination
was "taking," says Harper's Bazaar.
Not that there was any display of un
manly weakness, for the very sore arm
and the rainy weather were both en
dured with cheerful fortitude; but on'
the morning of the third day the little
man looked out into the weeping land
scape and sighed:
"Well, I don't think this is a very
nice world. It takes so long to get
morning; and.then it takes so long to
get night."
THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SATURDAY. AUGUST 24, 1912.—TTTE JUNIOR CAT.T..
When Charles Kellogg of San Fran
cisco announced that he could sing
a fire out there was scoffing among the
unbelievers. They had heard of this
man before and knew he had done re
markable things. They knew he could
imitate any bird he admired in the
woodland; that he had been able to
procure wonderful pictures of wild
animals through the Sierra moun
tains, because he made them completely #
unafraid by his singing; they knew
that serpents had absolutely no ter
rors for him. But a firle, they argued,
"has no life, no mind, therefore it can
not be hypnotised, tamed or lulled."
Nevertheless fires are being "sung
out" under teat conditions.
Fire, says Kellogg, who denies all
wisardry, is vibration; and just as it
has been shown in the laboratory that
one vibration may annul, control, si
lence another, so the proper one will
still the vibration of fire, and, when
the vibration is stilled the fire is out,
Kellogg makes no claim that any
human voice can sing to quietude the
vibrations of a conflagration. The ex
tinguishing vibrations must be of vol
ume commensurate with those to be
The Book Borrowing Habit
Some girls have the very bad habit
of borrowing books and never returning
them. The owner of perhaps a dearly
prized book does not like to be uncivil
and actually refuse the loan" of a book
and yet she feels that her valued pos
session, once out of the house, I*. likely
to remain absent for many a month,
and that her nervous, "Oh, by the way.
dear, have you finished with that book
I loaned you?" will be met with, "How
careless of me, dear; of course, I've
read It long ago; I'll bring it back to
morrow," and the "tomorrow" never
conies. |
Years ago it was customary to* write
in the fly loaves' of books, especially
attractive ones, likely to be pounced
on by wouldbe borrowers, a sort of
"take notice" for the'careless and for
getful, and three of these old time
verses may etill serve their original
purpose today:
"If thou are borrowed by a friend,
Right welcome shall he be
To read, to study—not to lend.
But to return to me."
"Nothing that imparted knowledge doth
Diminish learning's' store;
But books, I find, If often lent,
Return to me no more."
•Read slowly, pause frequently, think
seriously,
Keep cleanly, return duly.
With the corners of the leaves not
turned down."
■ —Philadelphia Inquirer.
The King and Queen of England
SINGING A FIRE TO SLEEP
controlled, but he does maintain that
the fire fighting operation in the future
will be based upon these principles. Ac
cording to this theory one may live to
see giant tuning forks or musical in
struments taking the place of the Are
engines.
Kellogg was born in the California
mountains, where he grew up in close
touch with nature. His ability to repro
duce musically • all sounds of mother
earth is phenomenal.
Make a few simple little experiments
In vibration on your own account. Hold
an- empty cigar box- in your hands in
the room where some one is playing the
piano, and every now and then you will
feel that box vibrate. Try singing in a
room where there are several small
stringed instruments and you will be
pleased sometimes to hear a string
sing with you.
The soothing, healing power of music
In treating the insane has called forth
remarks lately. Will the physician of
the future take temperatures with a
tuning fork and prescribe harmonious
chords to allay fever or a "concord of
sweet sounds" to hasten the knitting
of bones? —Philadelphia Public Ledger.
Exceedingly Apt
During his first curacy, says the
Youth's Companion, a clergyman found
the ladles of the parish entirely too
helpful. Such a storm of petty squab
bles arose from their overeagerness to
help that, in despair, he gave up the
place. Not long afterward he met his
successor. *
"How are you getting on with the la
dies?" asked the escaped curate.
"Oh, very well," was .he answer.
"There's safety in numbers."
"I found it 'in Exodus," was the quick
reply.
-~
A Prize Winner
"What are these cups for?" asked
a well dressed man of a jeweler, point
ing to some lovely silver cups on the
counter.
"These are race cups to be given as*
prises."
"If that's so, suppose you and I race
for one?' And the stranger, with the
cup in hand, started, the jeweler after
him. The stranger won the cup.—Key
stone.
; ■"■ • ■ —-
Mrs. Messer —Now, Tommy, go and
kiss your auntie, or mamma will whip
yon hard.
Tommy (after a ,long look at the
auntie)— Whip mo, ma!
Taking the Easier
the pigeons at Sandringham live quite a
Rpmiwild life and can be seen roaming
about the park in small flocks, dropping
between the deer and then flying back
ward and forward to the royal loft.
King George evidently intends to fol
low in the footsteps of the late King
EdwSTd In connection with the sport of
pigeon racing. He Is the president of
the Nations] Flying Club and has offered
for competition in the Grand National
race a silver cup to t~b. Winner of the
longest championship race of tho year
from Dax. This is* the most coveted
prize in the sport and is recognized as
the king's prize.
King George's loft was oHginally a
cottage with an aviary attached to one
of the lower rooms, in which the birds
would take air when not at liberty.
This has now been replaced by a mag
nificent new loft divided into throe
parts; one part is set aside for Stock
birds —that is to say, the pigeons that
are kept to breed the racers.
• Tho largest part of the loft is for the
racing pigeons that have to fly in the
competitions; and the other portion !■
for the youngsters, birds bred during
the current year, which are also raced
In the young bird races that take place
during August and the first week in
September,
There is one conspicuous feature in
the royal birds, and that is tho beauti
ful shape of their wings, the abundance
of feathers With which they are cov
ered throughout, and the enormous
strength of their flight feathers and
quills. It is no doubt this feature which
has nfade the royal strain of pigeons
prized by English fanciers, and in lofts
all over the country birds descended
from the royal loft have Improved the
strain until today there is no doubt that
English fanciers posses*s racing pigeons
equal in merit if not* superior to any in
the world.
The Commuter's Advantage
"I'm glad spring's coming, so I can
live out in the country again," re
marked a man on the car. "Now I'll
get a chance to read the papers and
magazines again and know what's go
ing on in the world. I feel ashamed
of myself for being as poorly informed
as I am."
-. "But I should think you'd have less
time than ever at home," suggested the
other man. "You'll have to leave home
earlier to get to your office in time."
"Yes, that's just it," said the first one.
"I'll spend more time on the cars then.
That's why the people who live at the
end of a city ear line are usually bet
ter informed than those'who live only
half way."—New York Tribune.
Singing Blackbirds
The blackbird, which belongs to the
thrush family, has strong imitative
powers and has even been taught to
speak. There is not much variety
in its natural song, but its voice has
a pure, flute like tone and full
volume, says the St. Louis Globe-Demo
crat. The bird is very susceptible of
being trained, and when reared ,by
hand from the nest is capable of form
ing strong attachments and makes
itself a great favorite.
When a blackbird is six or eight
weeks old his training should be begun.
Take him to a quiet room, away from
any other birds, and each night and
morning whistle the portion of the tune
you wish him to learn or play it on the
flute. Feed him before you begin and
put a fat, lively worm where he can see
it. After you have whistled or played
the air, say 20 times, stop so that the
bird may have an opportunity of imi
tating it.
If he should make the attempt, give
him the worm at once, praising and
caressing him meanwhile. He will soon
begin to see why a reward was given
to him, and he will not be slow in try
ing to earn it. When once he has
learned the tune he will never forget it,
and it will pass into and become a part
of his song.
After the blackbird has completed his
education he should be placed near
sonle other singing bird, whose notes he
would soon learn and blend with his
own.
Put his cage out of doors whenever
the weather permits and he will tell you
how pleased you have made him. But
during the hot days of summer let him
be well shaded and kept cool, as heat
and dry air seem to affect his voice. He
will begin to sing in the end of Febru
ary or the beginning of March, and will
continue until the fall, if the suu-mer
is not too hot.
1 •
Where?
A lady, who gave herself grout airs
of importance, on being introduced to a
gentleman, said, with a show of much
indifference, "I think r have seen you
somewhere." ,
"Very likely," replied the gentleman,
with equal sang froid, "I have been
there frequently."
—» 1 _
Marvelous
Bobby—This sailor must have been an
acrobat.
Mother—Why?
Bobby—Because the book says, "Hav
ing lit bis Pipe, ho sat down on his
chest,"