PIGEONS AXD ALL ABOUT THEM. 105 



caused by carelessness of the attendant, who does not know 

 of the gorging proclivities of Pouters. 



Some fanciers put the gorged bird in a padded box that 

 holds up the crop. A narrow box, set up on end, is the prop- 

 er thing, and all one needs is to use judgment. As long as 

 there is no digestion going on the crop will remain as it is, 

 and keep growing worse. Sometimes it is nearly all a water 

 crop, and then it can be gently squeezed, (holding the bird's 

 head down) and the water will run out. 



But sometimes the gorging is so bad that the stomach will 

 not act at all, and then the only thing to do is to cut the 

 crop open, clean it out and sew it up with silk thread, or 

 silver wire. 



Of course the crop proper and the outer skin must be 

 sewed separately. 



The operation is nearly always a success, but often the 

 bird goes right to gorging again, and should be carefully fed 

 for a while after. 



