TAKING THE FEATHERS. 75 



without injuring the next growth, that cutting the 

 feathers after six months' growth has now become an 

 universal practice as regards the quill featl^ers — that is, 

 the white and long grey, or what naturalists call the 

 priir.arj, secondary and tertiary feathers — the stumps 

 being left in till ripe. 



As regards the blacks and tails, the practice varies 

 considerably. The best plan is: — When the chick is 

 seven months old, cut the quill feathers as near the wing 

 as you can without letting the stumps bleed ; pull out 

 two rows of the brown feathers above the quill, also two 

 rows above and below the arm of the wing, taking care 

 not to pull so many as to leave the skin exposed, nor 

 yet to take the floss feathers, that is, the row of light 

 feathers next the leg, which are of little value and 

 greatly help to keep the bird warm. Pull out the tail. 

 Tw^o months afterwards pull out the quill stumps. Six 

 months after this you repeat the process, leaving the 

 quill feather stumps in two months each time. You 

 thus have after the first plucking a growth of eight 

 months for the black and drab feathers, which is no 

 irjury to them, as their points are not liable to get 

 damnged, and they protect the quill feathers for the 

 first four months of their growth. 



The tail is quite ready to pull every seven months, 

 and this is the best thing to do ; if left till the time 



