PLYMOUTH ROCK STANDARD AND BREED BOOK 375 



are as follows : Start with three ordinary wash tubs about 

 half full of water at a temperature of from 103 to 110 degrees. 

 Birds can be washed in a room at a temperature of about 70 

 degrees, which is as warm as an attendant can work in com- 

 fortably. 



The Process. Grasp the bird firmly by the legs, lower him 

 into the water, and begin washing by lathering him with a 

 cake of soap. Soap counteracts the oil in the bird's feathers 

 and allows the water to penetrate to the skin. Be careful in 

 handling the feathers until you get them thoroughly wet ; 

 afterwards you can rub them enough to build up a heavy 

 lather all over the bird, very similar to the process of sham- 

 pooing the hair. Then rinse this lather out, and repeat the 

 same process. If the bird seems very dirty, give him even a 

 third lathering. The rinsing of the heavy lather out of the 

 feathers seems to carry all the dirt and stain away. Then go 

 over the bird's comb, face, wattles and legs with a nail-brush 

 and heavy lather. Also scrub the wings and any stained spot 

 on the bird's plumage with the nail-brush. Then thoroughly 

 rinse the bird successively in the second and third tubs of 

 water. You can wash from four to six birds, according to how 

 dirty they are, before changing the water. Then empty all 

 three tubs and start again with clean water. 



The Water. The character of the water you use will influ- 

 ence results to a considerable extent. Soft water, that is also 

 white, will give better results than hard water. Sometimes 

 water contains iron or other mineral substances that affect the 

 color and the finish of the feathers. You can generally find 

 suitable water in every locality, by a little effort, or you can 

 catch rain water, melt snow or overcome the difficulty in some 

 way. Borax or ammonia are sometimes used to soften hard 

 water, and they help some; but all such agencies have a ten- 

 dency to injure the fabric of the feather, and you do not get 

 quite the beautiful satin finish with anything but pure, naturally 

 soft water and some mild soap. All of these things have to be 

 carefully considered. 



Blueing. Until very recently, all white birds were blued 

 slightly in the last rinsing, and this practice was used by all 

 conditioners for many years, but is gradually being abandoned, 

 for the reason that otherwise well conditioned birds were left 

 out of the awards every year on account of being too blue, 

 streaked with blue, or in some way presenting a bad appear- 

 ance on this account. If done just right, this may add slightly 



