FIRST LESSONS IN POULTRY KEEPING. 147 



plunge iu a warm bath it prevents catching cold. After going through these three operations 

 the bird is ready for drying, which is not by any means the least important part of the work. 



" After taking the bird from tub No. 3, put the bird on a board placed on top of the tub, 

 and by means of the hands squeeze all the water out of Its feathers you possibly can. 

 Remove the bird then to the top of a box, or a chair, placed very close to a good brisk fire, 

 and begin toweling it with warm dry towels, so as to absorb all the moisture out of the feathers 

 that you can. 



" Now the bird is ready for drying. Keep it before a brisk wood fire, but not so near as to 

 curl the feathers, or you will spoil them so that they cannot be remedied. With a strong palm 

 fan let the assistant begin the drying, first fanning one side and then the other. This part 

 of the work is gone on with until the bird is thoroughly dried. The fire needs to be brisk, 

 the bird kept turned around, and the fan going all the time, and it is surprising how soon the 

 feathers will dry and open up so nice and fluffy. The fluff, the back, and under the wings 

 will be longest in drying. Holding a wing up with one hand, and funning with the other, 

 will soon make wonderful changes. If the work has been successful thus far, little difficulty 

 will be experienced in getting the birds dry and putting on the finishing touches. 



"And now we will suppose the bird is nice and dry, and that the feathers are free from 

 soap. It is a difficult job to get the feathers wet and soapy, and a difficult one to get the soap 

 out again. All it requires to accomplish both is time and patience, and good clean warm 

 water. But if, on drying, it has been found that the feathers are sticky and do not open 

 nicely, which will not be the case if the work has been done right in first place, put iu order 

 again another fresh lot of clean warm rainwater, and rinse over again as before, and proceed 

 with the bleaching and drying again." 



What to Do On the Way, at the Show, and Home Again. 



On these three points Mr. Smith, generally reputed one of the best fitters and handlers of 

 exhibition fowls in the country, gave our readers a few years ago the following advice : 



" Mistakes which seriously handicap a bird are often made in the mode of shipping to a 

 show. Most anything will do for a shipping coop, for some people. The most common mis- 

 take is shipping male birds In coops that are not high enough, as the bird will take a 

 stretch now and then, and if he runs across anything new is liable to jump, he will strike his 

 comb against the top of the coop, and when this sort of exercise is practiced for a few 

 minutes that ornamental fixture becomes anything but ornamental. The coops that some 

 leading breeders and exhibitors ship in have solid instead of slat tops, which are sure to injure 

 any but the firmest and smallest of single combs. 



" Experience has shown the writer that single comb males of the American class should have 

 a coop 28 to 30 in. high, and not less than 17 x 18 in. on the floor. Males of the rose comb 

 varieties may be shipped in coops 4 to 6 in. lower. For males of the Mediterranean class, 

 nothing short of 22 to 24 in. in height should be used, and for some birds the coops should be 

 even higher. But one bird should be shipped in a coop or compartment, no matter how long 

 they have run together, or how friendly they may seem. The confinement in narrow quarters 

 never improves, and often destroys the good feeling that has heretofore existed between them. 



" The larger and more successful exhibitors, as a rule, accompany their birds, or send an 

 attendant to care for them whenever they exhibit. Some of these exhibitors go so far as to 

 say that they will never show a single bird unless accompanied by a competent handler. 

 Those who are acquainted with the many duties and cares of the average show official can 

 readily understand that if our birds are to get extra care we must supply it. The wisdom of 

 accompanying birds or sending an attendant is born of experience. 



"Your duties do not cease when your birds leave your yards, and begin again when they 

 arrive at the exhibition hall. It is most necessary to have a watchful eye upon the coops and 

 birds when in transit. Expressmen are much more likely to keep the coops right side up when 

 under the eye of the owner, or one supposed to be the owner, and the messenger less liable to 

 bury the coop under baggage when you occasionally peep into the express car. 



" As soon as the birds arrive at the show room they should be moved to some comfortable 

 place, and the show cages made ready for their reception, if this has not already been done. 



