THE CANARY'S PLUMAGE AND MOULTING 



147 



A Cruel 

 Practice. 



The reason, by tlic \\ay. why "" iin 



(liylited "' classes were introduced into 



exhibitions, was to do away 



with tlie barbarous practice 



of drawing the flight and tail 



leathers of young birds. This was done 



for tiie ))urpose of obtaining the richer 



tint in these featliers in the first season, 



instead of waiting for its advent in the 



natural way witii tiie second moult, and to 



make it possible to compete in the first year 



on a level footing with older birds. 



Happily this cruel practice is now 



looked u])()n with horror by most breeders, 



and we are certain it will never be revived 



by anyone possessing a spark of humane 



feeling. The pain caused to the birds, 



no matter how skilled the operator, was 



beyond description, while many of the 



poor things had to hobble about the 



bottom of the cage until the flight feathers 



grew sufticiently long to enable them to 



use their wings again. 



Turning again to oiu- leg-guides to age, 



it is not easy to define clearly in what 



the difference actually con- 

 Leg . . 

 r»:ff„-^„^^» sists, but we think a iudge 

 Uiiierences, « ^ 



coidd pick out the two 

 or three matured specimens in a group 

 of twenty, and feel pretty sure he had hit 

 the right nail on the licad in every 

 instance. 



As a rule, the skin of the leg and toes 

 of a yoimg bird is unich finer in tcxtui'c, 

 and has a more tender, fleshy aj)pear- 

 ancc tlian tliat of a year-old or older 

 bird, wliieh has a more horn-like sur- 

 face, that almost verges on a scaley 

 roughness, especially on the top of the 

 toes. The toe-nails of a young bird are 

 also much finer and brighter flesh-coloured 

 than those of an old bird, while the blood 

 vein down the centre (called the " quick '") 

 comes farther down the nail of a yoimg 

 bird than in the case of an old one. There 

 are exceptions, however, and some old 

 l)ir(ls carry their age with such juvenile 

 smartness and finish tliat they puzzle the 

 best of judges. On the other hand, some 

 j'oungsters very quickly develop these 

 marks of age. In judging age, therefore, 



it hclioves us to move with caution, and 

 above all, to take the bird's health into con- 

 sideration, as this at times very matcriallv 

 alters the appearance of the legs in regard 

 to increased roughness. 



We now come to the main subject- 

 matter of this chapter — viz. moulting. 



We have preferred to explore 

 Moulting. I, , 



some of the small by-paths as 



we have come to them, knowing that when 

 followed to their termination we should 

 have to turn back, and there was no chance 

 of our losing ourselves or coming out upon 

 the main stream lower down, and leaving 

 some portion of it behind unexamined. 

 We think the questions we have just dis- 

 cussed would be most likely to arise in 

 the mind of the fancier at this stage of 

 his experience, and have, therefore, en- 

 deavoiu-ed to dispose of them in further- 

 ance of our )ilan, rather than leave a number 

 of miscellaneous items for after-discussion. 

 The phenomenon of moulting is a won- 

 derful provision of Nature, common to all 

 animals whose outer covering consists of 

 hair, feathers, or other analogous forms. 

 The bare mention of this fact seems to open 

 out at once a wide field for thought, u.jion 

 which, however, we must not ventin-e to 

 trespass one inch. We use the word in 

 its generally accepted significance, as re- 

 ferring to the annual shedding of the feathers 

 of birds, which, besides beino- of use as 

 an outer covering, are destined for other 

 jnirposes. for the accomplishment of which 

 the>- reqiure to be kept in a state of con- 

 stant repair and efficienc}'. As a livery, 

 only one suit is allowed in the year, and 

 this suit is apt to get much injured by 

 wear and tear, as well as in the broils and 

 vicissitudes through which it has to pass. 

 Some parts of it will bear patching and 

 repairing ; but as it gets old and worn-out 

 there appears to be a limit even to this, 

 and the wearer has often to go in rags 

 and tatters, with portions of his body 

 none too well covered. One condition on 

 which the new livery or coat of feathers 

 is granted is that the old one shall be 

 entirely cast away ; and in the exercise 

 of nuich kindness and wisdom it is supplied 



