DISEASES AND REMEDIES. 297 



adopted : the perches are taken away, so that the bird 

 is obliged to remain in the water as long as may be neces- 

 sary, that is about half an hour at a time. During the 

 feet-bathing, a little hemp-seed should be thrown in now 

 and then to amuse the bird : the bath may be continued 

 every other day until the feet are well. In cases of gouty 

 feet a decoction of the plant called soapwort has been 

 found efficacious ; in other cases washing daily in warm 

 water with castile soap, and anointing with lard or oil. 



Sore eyes may be washed with an infusion of white helle- 

 bore, especially when disposed to blindness. The juice of 

 beet-root, both as a liniment and drink, is also useful. 



Tumours and ulcers sometimes come in the heads of birds ; 

 they should be touched with a red-hot knitting-needle, and 

 afterwards anointed with black soap in a liquid state. 

 When the humour is soft, and looks like a formation of 

 matter, it should be dressed with fresh butter until it breaks 

 and discharges. Beet-juice is the best drink the bird can 

 have. 



Ulcers in the throat should have borax and honey 

 applied to them by means of a feather. The best medicine 

 for the bird in this case is milk of almonds. 



Pairing fever usually comes on in the month of May, 

 when the desire for sexual intercourse is the strongest. Birds 

 affected by it cease to sing, sit moping with ruffled feathers, 

 and not unfrequently pine away and die. They should be 

 kept out of the sight of females, even of another species, or 

 of birds which are paired, and have change of scene. 

 Hanging them out of the window commonly effects a cure ; 

 their attention is there diverted from their own sorrows, 

 and they soon share in the general hilarity of nature. 



Moulting. Bechstein observes that birds always moult 

 at a time when their food is most abundant ; the forest 

 birds may then be seen approaching fields and cultivated 

 places, where, having plenty of insects and seeds, they can- 

 not suffer from want ; indeed, the loss of their feathers pre- 

 vents their taking long flights, and the reproduction of 

 them occasions a loss of flesh which must be repaired. An 

 abundance of food is therefore necessary ; and following 

 this rule, during moulting, some additional food must be 



