72 THE SPEAKING PABROTS. 



Some benefit is derived in such cases by bathing the part in 

 a strong warm solution of potash (70), and then sponging it with 

 carbolic oil (41). A parrot sometimes tears out a claw by catch- 

 ing in the wires or in some split ; then the wound must be 

 washed and cooled with arnica water (7), dried with a soft towel, 

 and brushed over with lead collodion (9). Scab in the Foot 

 (calcareous bones or elephantiasis) rarely occurs in parrots, but I 

 have seen it in an old cockatoo. The feet become covered by 

 degrees with a rind or crust, which increases continually in 

 bulk, prevents the parrot climbing, and disfigures the legs ; it 

 causes unbearable itching, and so worries the bird that it grows 

 thin. It must be separated from other parrots, because the 

 disease, which is caused by mites in the skin, is infectious. 

 Treatment : The hard crust must be smeared with soft soap, and 

 twentj^-four hours after softened with warm water, and cleansed 

 as much as possible with a hard brush from scab (but the feet 

 must not be made to bleed) and then rubbed with balm of Peru 

 (67), or carbolic acid ointment (42). In more severe cases 

 the treatment must be repeated. Finally, the feet must be 

 smeared with glycerine. 



Diseases of the Plumage are caused by tiny parasites, which 

 take up their abode in the skin or the feathers, or by a diseased 

 internal condition. The first are of many kinds, and either 

 produce an eruption (similar to the itch in man) or destroy the 

 feathers themselves. Treatment : In order to make sure of 

 their presence, microscopical examination is necessary, but, 

 fortunately, they are easy to banish. Strong smelling stuffs, 

 such as petroleum or spirituous oils, &c., are often used for 

 yard fowls and for cage birds, without recollecting that they are 

 just as disagreeable and hurtful to the bird as the vermin. I 

 therefore recommend, in all cases, Peruvian balm (67), and, as a 

 further, effectual, and harmless remedy, insect powder (31), with 

 the greatest cleanliness and care of the plumage in general. If 

 the bird gets some places on the body where the feathers decay, 

 or it tears them out, and constantly scratches with the beak, so 

 as even to make a sore, it is necessary at once to find out 

 whether it is on account of bird mites (the so-called bird louse). 

 These red parasites may be recognised with the naked eye. The 

 affected spot should be brushed with tincture of insect powder 

 (32), or smeared with diluted glycerine (24), over which should be 

 puffed some insect powder (31). Next day it should be washed 



