Moulting. 165 



service during the process of the moult: Dissolve one ounce 

 of Epsom salts in a quart of warm water, and when cold add 

 two ounces of whiskey or brandy and two teaspoonfuls of 

 lemon or lime juice, shake well up, and give this every 

 third day in place of the ordinary drinking water. A pinch of 

 milk of sulphur added to the bath is also useful. 



PROTECTION FROM DRAUGHTS. Sudden changes from heat 

 to cold or cold to heat will be found a good method for 

 inducing birds to begin to moult, when they fail to do so 

 naturally at the proper season: but to change a bird that is 

 already in the moult from a warm place to a cold one, is 

 calculated to check the process and cause the bird, to use a 

 common expression, to " stick in the moult," and nothing 

 tends more to derange the health of a bird than an unto- 

 ward circumstance of this kind. Warmth is a most essential 

 and necessary element at this season, and some fanciers line 

 the inside and cover the outside of their cages with baize or 

 flannel, whilst others have panes of glass fitted to slide in 

 front of them, with the intention of keeping them clean, quiet, 

 and warm. I do not approve of either of those contrivances 

 myself, for experience has taught me that all birds so moulted 

 are very liable to take cold on the slightest exposure after- 

 wards. I prefer a thin calico cover, or a cover of any mate- 

 rial sufficient to keep out a cold draught; and birds moulted 

 in this way are not nearly so susceptible to change of tem- 

 perature as those that are moulted under either of the 

 systems before named. 



INFLUENCE OF LIGHT. Other fanciers, again, moult their 

 birds in dark rooms, gradually accustoming them to this 

 change until they are able to find their food and water in 

 total darkness. This plan is believed to intensify and preserve 

 the colour of the birds, but I think it is frequently overdone. 

 I am fully aware that the direct rays of the sun destroy 

 the colour of birds when they are exposed to it; but if the 

 bird room has a north or north-easterly aspect there is no 

 fear of such an occurrence taking place, for it would only 

 get a reflected light, which would do the birds no harm. My 



