56 Song Birds. 



to stand for at least five minutes if possible in its 

 shallow bath. To take hold of the bird without 

 hurting it, it is very essential to keep the hand quite 

 outside the wings ; watching an opportunity for lightly 

 closing it when the bird has both its wings folded. 

 It is best to keep the head over the thumb ; and 

 as the feet are very often tucked up just when we 

 want them down, the mistress's hand is usually 

 forced to take a bath with the bird. Jenny, one 

 of my pets, was extremely bad when I got her ; but 

 after three days of this treatment, she was as com- 

 fortable as could be ; and considering how she pecked 

 and screamed at being caught at first, it was very 

 amusing to witness her complacency as her shoes- 

 wore out. I always present the patients with hemp- 

 seeds while in the bath ; sometimes they only hold 

 them (taking them back to their cage to eat) ; but 

 at any rate it assures them that people who give 

 them such delicious things, cannot possibly mean 

 harm. 



There should be always a little bed of rather fine 1 

 dry oatmeal for the bird to stand on for a moment 

 when its bath is over; this dries the feet, and in? 

 all ways is useful, while its dusting the feathers does, 

 not the slightest harm. 



But except in the case of birds very newly bought, 

 this is treatment not likely ever to be required, a& 

 clean cages and clean sand are suificient preserva- 



