iS6 



CANARIES, HYBRIDS, AND BRITISH BIRDS 



to dry the birds be lore the fire, plaec it 



in front as previously explained, and leave 



the bird alone. The bird may appear 



half dead, in which case some think it best 



to hold it quietly in a cloth near the fire 



till a good pidsation can be felt in the 



heart again, and then place it in the cage. 



But very few — not one in hundreds — really 



do die, and it is as well to place the bird 



in the warm flannel-lined cage at once, 



with the tail pointing towards the fire. It 



will generally lie there till about iuill dry, 



when it will give a bit of a roll over, stand 



u]) suddenly, and hop on to the perch. 



taking care of itself till the feathers assume 



their natm-al appearance. 



Here a word of c;iution is necessary. 



The drying cage nuist be very warm, for 



the danger of chill is consider- 



^"'f.^ °^ ;i,l)!e. On the other hand, if 

 Uaution. 



too hot there is a possibility of 

 the birds becoming faint. Hence the 

 advantage oi having a small thermometer 

 in the cage, as it can then be watched and 

 the tem])crature not allowed to rise above 

 90 degrees. Throughout the washing the 

 licat of the water should be kept u]> by 

 judicious changes or additions, and it 

 should be I'cncwcd as olten as dirt or soaj) 

 make it necessary. The cloths should be 

 regularly dried and heated after each use 

 on a bird, so as to be always ready I'or the 

 next: a towel should also be ke]>t foi- the 

 sole ])urposc oT wiping the wet bauds alter 

 each bird is done. 



If a bird gels cold ;i,u(l slii\(Ts aJter 

 it is j)ut in the drying cage, it should 

 ahvaii-s be taken in hand and carelully 

 wra|)|)e(l in a, i.-iirly wai'ni cloth for a niinulc 

 or two. when another warm cloth shoulil 

 be applied. This o|)eratiou repeated two 

 or three times will soon thoroughly warm 

 Ihe bird, when it cin be returned to I In- 

 drying cage, where it \\ ill soon move about 

 and commence to plume itscir. 



In conclusion, we may remark tluil oiie 

 ])raetical lesson from a. good praelic;il 

 washer will be more elTictual thnri a eait- 

 load oi inst nu't ions ; but il' if ea,uiiot be 

 obtained it is well to practise, as we said 

 at the beginning, on a lew common 



birds before those of value are operated 

 upon. 



As the birds get thoroughly dry — if being 

 dried before a fire — they should be gradu- 

 ally moved farther from it. When there 

 are many to be washed, they 

 Wash ^ ^'^ generally moved into an- 

 other cage as they dry off ; 

 this is quite safe, as the room will have 

 got fairly warm. It need hardly be 

 said that the cage into which a washed 

 bird is put should be scru})ulously clean. 

 \\'hcn the washing is done and the bird 

 is dry it is essential that it should 

 have a drink and feed. After this it 

 is best to draw a linen cloth over the 

 cage and leave it for the night. If 

 the bird does not look as well as it might 

 in the morning, it is a good plan to |>ut a 

 ilannel or other clean cloth over the bottom 

 of the cage and give it a natural bath ; 

 this is the surest and Ijcst way of getting 

 the feathers quite right and restoi-ing the 

 natural bloom. SoTne birds" attire looks 

 so perfect alter they have been washed 

 that it is well not to ofiV^r thi'm the bath, 

 as in that case it does not imjirove them, 

 rather the reverse — so the fancier nmst be 

 guided l)y circumstances ; but if a bath 

 would apparent ly improve tlu' liuish ol' a 

 bird, and il will not bathe when it is 

 olTered, it should be sprayed with tepid 

 water, though not o\(r-(lone. or the bird, 

 instead of ])reening itsell'. will sit sulkily 

 huddled up in a. lum]). Such a spray may 

 be ])urehased from any chemist or vendor 

 of bird re([uisiles for a shilling. \Vhen the 

 birds ])lumage is made nicely damp all 

 o\cr. i'emo\"e Ihe Ilannel (put into the cage 

 lo al>si)rl) the wet), wipe the ])crehes, feed 

 Ihe bird, and lea,\c il again to dry; or 

 it may, aller the bathing or spraying, 

 he run into a. clean, dry cage. We lay 

 gi'iat stress on clean cages, since the birds 

 begin o|)(i'alions al once alter a bath of 

 any kind, and any dust on Ihe wires or 

 |)erehes is al once I r.a nsl'erred lo Ihe head 

 near Ihe heak and s|)oils all. The cokl 

 bathing or spraying ])r()cess is callcfl 

 lining down." and is \-cry necessary for 

 showing some birds in good bloom. They 



