PLYMOUTH ROCK STANDARD AND BREED BOOK 391 



the writer was long ago acquainted, to give each bird on its 

 return from a show a small cube of beef or ham fat, dipped 

 lightly in red pepper. This seems so simple as to be folly, yet 

 we readily can see that the fat was, because of its oily nature, 

 warming and laxative, while the pepper is known to be a stim- 

 ulant to digestive action. 



The Use of Condiments and Laxatives. Another equally 

 successful exhibitor and breeder who was most skillful in the 

 care of chickens, mixed equal parts of ginger, charcoal, flowers 

 of sulphur, and powdered charcoal together, added enough 

 melted lard or flour and water to hold the ingredients together, 

 and gave each bird a pill about the size of a large pea. We 

 can understand that this is mildly laxative and stimulating to 

 digestive action. These remedies are mentioned because of 

 their simple, harmless character, and because they are usually 

 available. 



Compel Exercise and Feed Lightly. Aside from these 

 simple precautions, it is necessary to mention but one or two 

 more, and these are so important, so obvious and so well known 

 that it is not necessary to go into very much detail. It is known 

 by every exhibitor that birds, partly because they are overfed 

 and underexercised, become lazy if not dyspeptic during the 

 time they are so closely confined. It is therefore necessary to 

 feed lightly for a few days and in such a manner that the birds 

 must exercise. This is easily accomplished by supplying the 

 same light, yet deep litter that is so necessary to get birds in 

 show condition, or to keep hens laying briskly in the winter 

 months. 



Notwithstanding the usual demands of the show room and 

 the incidentals connected therewith upon the physical and 

 mental systems of fowls entirely unprovided for by nature in 

 the original parents, the difficulties of conditioning and show- 

 ing fowls seems very small and trivial to anyone who has even 

 a very few years of experience in this fascinating sport. 



