198 Salt Cat 



use of pigeons, which, however, I never 

 observed to eat animal food. In compli- 

 ance with this custom, I caused to be pla- 

 ced in the middle of the pigeon-loft a dish of 

 the following composition : loam, sand, old 

 mortar, fresh Hme, bay-salt, cummin^ cori- 

 ander, carraway-seed, and all-spice, moist- 

 ened into a consistence with urine. The 

 pigeons were constantly pecking at this, and 

 were in a constant state of good health ; 

 how much of which may be attributed to 

 the use of the cat, I cannot determine ; 

 but, certainly, they are extremely fond of 

 it, and if it have no other merit, it prevents 

 them from pecking the mortar from the roof 

 of the house, to which otherwise they are 

 much inclined. The cat was mixed, and 

 heaped up in the dish, a piece of hoard 

 being placed upon the summit, to prevent 

 the birds from dunging upon it ; when be- 

 come too hard, it was occasionally broken 

 for them. 



The regular old formula for this cat is as 

 follows : gravel or drift-sand, unctuous loam, 

 the rubbish of an old wall, or lime, a 



