1 70 



CANARIES, HYBRIDS, AND BRITISH BIRDS 



c'Diitrivfd fiiges should ]>c runiished to 



reduce the possibility ol' accideut to the 



tail to a niininunn. \\v do not nuan to say 



that the tail is always in this loose state, 



but when we find it so we believe weeause 



the bird not the least ]iain. but do it a ]>osi- 



tive serviec, by pulling it all out. We say 



'■ i)ullinir "■ it out. but we niioht have said 



" blowiuLC "" it out : I'or in sneh ease a pulT 



will scatter it. and it recpiires more care 



to keep it in than trouble to pull it out. 



Even tail feathers, " firmly fixed," as wc 



woidd term it, come out with the exercise 



of but little force. 



This, however, does not apply to the 



wiuiis. in which wc find the quill-feathers 



more secm'cly fixed, as they 



e ing ],{jve a much heavier share of 

 reathers. 



work to perform than the 



appliance risijfed aft, and there is no deny- 

 ing that it docs take a ft'ood jerk to pull 

 them out. The winti', moreover, has to be 

 very carefully held to avoid the disloca- 

 tion of the joints of the ■\vinti;. It is pos- 

 sible also even to break some ])ortion of 

 the bcin\' substance when fli<fht feathers 

 ai'c pnlU'd out in any number. Even 

 bi-cedcrs who are most expert in dr:iwin<>' 

 llioht I'cathci-s have had such things ha]i- 

 pcn. \\v cannni tell what is the amount 

 of pain inllictcd, but surely there must })e 

 some possibly less in some cases than 

 others. I'm- e\-en flight leathers are a])t 

 to come out in a most provoking wav when 

 they arc not wanted lo. as the experience 

 of ,an hour's washing of dirty birds will eon- 

 tn'm. \'ct if we lake a score of \dung 

 birds twii nionHis old. wc do not think 

 lli(i-c would be a loose wing feather found 

 in the lot. The pain of extraction mav be 

 much. Ol- il may Itc as im|)crceptiblc as 

 thai occasioned by ])ulling out a hair, 

 ami the statements of those who talk of 

 (|ui\cring llcsh and broken bones arc met 

 by dispassioued couni ci'-slalemenK I hat I he 

 opc'ratiou is pci'l'celly sale, and the |>ain. 

 if any, instantaneous. We agree that llie 

 pain may be inslantaneons. but a,l the 

 same time, if w(' ai'c to judge by the coiuluel 

 of the bii'd tlui-ing the o])ci-ation, it must 

 be acute, 'I'lie bird calls out as each lealher 



is ])nllcd from the wing — we are speakings, 



of coni'se. of the extraction of firmly fixed 



feathers — just as human beings call oul 



and flinch at a shar|> shoot of i)ain. Our 



illustration of a wing (page 169). showing 



how the flight feathers arc imbedded in 



the gristle-like substance which coats the 



bones, nuist confirm this o])inion. 



^Ve cannot think, then, considering the 



eul to be accomplished, that the o])cration 



can be justified on the gi'onnd 



_f ^ of necessitv, more csiieeialh' 



Fractice . ■ . ' 



Justifiable ? ^^ there is a doubt in the case 



as to the amount of jiain 



inflicted and the extent ol' its dm-ation. 



Even if we give the defenders of the 



]iracticc the benefit of this doul)t. the 



hel|)less condition of tlie birds after the 



operation is snflk'icnt to condemn it. bi 



some instances the perches have to be 



lowered so as to enable the l)ird to get 



on to them until the new -wing feathers 



have grown a fair length again. If the 



giving of classes for imflighted birds at 



shows has done nothing more than to 



discovn-age this cruel ])raetiee and render 



it unnecessary, a lasting benefit has been 



conferred on the Fancy. 



In the case of broken or frayed feathers. 



howcN'er. wc think the l)ii(l is as nnich 



benefited l)\ I heir I'emoval as 



BroKen inconvenienced bv I he opera- 



Feathers. , ,1 1 ' • 



tion. and all that is neccs- 



sar\' is to hold thai pni'lion of the wing 



from wliic'h Ihe injiu'ed I'ealher sjirings 



firnd\' between the finger and thumb, .and 



then the smarter the twitch the less will 



be the pain. A few of the small i>od\- 



feathers can be pulled oni in Ihe same 



maniK'r. and llic\ .art' re.illx' so sm.all in 



the quill llial Ihe pi'obable pain is not Wdrth 



a momcMils eonsidei'at ion. Il would be 



hard lines lo have to keep a good show bird 



at home throughout Ihe show season 



because it has a couple ol' broken flight 



feathers : but only in such circumstances 



should e\'cu a single wing feath( r be 



('.raw n. 



The first ])lace on which the new feathers 



will be obsci'vcd is on the breast, where a 



rapid growth takes place. Ihe I'eathci's on 



