Martha Doremus, age 11, of Ephrata, Penna.,,, for her question:

How do homing pigeons find their way home?

This darling of the pigeon world is a mystery. Ha can find his way over hundreds of miles of country which he has never seen before. He can travel at 60 miles an hour for a distance of 75 miles and an average speed of 40 miles an hour over a distance of 125 miles is not unusual. How he does it, nobody knows.

Homers, also called carriers, have been used to carry messages since the days of the Roman army. They are used to carry secret messages even in these days of modern communications. One of these heroes brought a message through the shot and shell of the German army in World War I, He is Cher iimi, now mounted in the National Museum, Washington D.C. This brave pigeon brought a message from the Lost Battalion of the 77th Division which sent help on its way.

People have studied the mystery of the homing pigeon for hundreds of years but no one yet can understand it. It is simply a gift of Nature to a pigeon who wants to find his way home to his loving family,