Moulting. 1 79 



Formula 2 : Annato (air dried and crushed), 2oz. ; turmeric, 

 2oz. ; salad-oil, 4oz. Triturate and keep in a warm place for 

 three or four days ; add 2 teaspoonfuls of this to each hard- 

 boiled egg and biscuit powder (equal quantity) and a tea- 

 spoonful of good brown sugar or honey. Mix into a paste 

 not too stiff. Give marigold flowers freely and canary- and 

 mustard- seed in equal quantities. 



Formula 3: Nepaul pepper, mustard, turmeric, and ground 

 ginger, each 2oz. ; moist sugar, 8oz. Take 2dr. of hay or 

 meadow saffron, and add to it 4oz. of good sherry wine; 

 digest for seven days, and strain. To one egg and two small 

 biscuits crushed to powder, add a teaspoonful of each of the 

 above compounds ; this will be sufficient for three birds. 

 Prepare it fresh every morning, and let the birds have a 

 constant supply of canary- and mustard-seed, mixed in equal 

 proportions. This is said to be a very satisfactory receipt 

 for producing a good bright yellow colour. Give marigold 

 flowers ad libitum. 



DAMP BOOMS. Whatever you do, be sure tha,t you do not 

 put birds in a damp room to moult, nor in a room where gas ia 

 constantly used, for it is more hurtful than most people suppose 

 and has, I doubt not, been the means of destroying thousands 

 of birds. It sets them into the moult at unseasonable times of 

 the year, and occasionally causes loss of voice. It matters 

 not how healthy or robust a bird may be, it cannot thrive in 

 a vitiated or frequently overheated atmosphere. 



PRESERVING COLOUR. It is a difficult matter to preserve 

 the colour of show-birds throughout an entire season, especially 

 when they are exhibited frequently, for the action of the light 

 destroys the colour. The best plan to adopt where it is con. 

 venient to do so is to put two or three panes of ruby-coloured 

 glass in the bird-room window, and shut off all the other 

 approaches of light. This can be done by coating over the 

 remaining squares with a mixture of thick glue size and lamp- 

 black, or a board or shutter could be used ; either would do. 

 The ruby glass neutralises the chemical action of the light, and 



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