206 PO UL TR r- CRAFT. 



at the height of a man's waist. This will cause the heat to rise from the sand, and the 

 fowls will, with the water in the plumage, secure a steam or Turkish bath that will make 

 the plumage spread out to its fullest extent, and be immaculately white. 



" Or, put the bird in a cage with a wire bottom and cut straw that is absolutely clean, 

 and set this cage over a register so as to heat the straw to 100 degrees in a room of 70 

 degrees ; and in this let the bird steam dry. When washing brush the black dirt out 

 from under the scales of the legs and toes, as one cleans one's finger nails." [I. K. FELCH, 

 in Reliable Poultry Journal. ] 



If a bird does not carry its wings right ; if the tail is too fan-like, or too 

 pinched ; if the sickles do not set right ; if anything of this kind is wrong, it 

 can and should be made right by frequently stroking, shaping, and manipu- 

 lating the feathers with the hands, until at last they take proper positions. 



302. Care of the Head. If a comb does not set quite right, it can oftea 

 be adjusted by a little manipulation with the fingers. The comb of a Leghorn 

 hen that does not lop nicely can be formed in a very short time to shape just 

 as desired, and will stay that way through the show and afterwards. The 

 comb of a male that does not stand true, or bulges over the beak, can be very 

 much improved by simply working it as near what it should be as possible 

 with the fingers. The wattles, too, yield to treatment ; and all such methods 

 are perfectly legitimate. 



Just previous to the show the head, comb, and wattles should be sponged 

 clean, to free them from dirt and dandruff, then rubbed (not smeared) with 

 vaseline. 



303. Care of the Feet. If the feet are at all scaly, the thing first in 

 order is to get rid of the parasites, (1F3I5) ; afterwards the shanks and toes 

 can be well rubbed with vaseline or olive oil. A sound foot once lost can 

 never be restored, but if the bird is otherwise good, and the company he is 

 going into not too hot, it is worth while to put the bad feet in condition they 

 ought to be taken care of, whether the bird is to be shown or not. 



304. The Food Previous to Exhibition need not vary from the regular 

 diet, unless it is necessary to force a fowl to bring it up to weight. If a fowl 

 in good condition is much short in weight, forcing is very likely to impair 

 its future usefulness in the breeding pen. If the fowl is in poor condition, 

 judicious heavy feeding will do it good, aside from increasing its chances of 

 winning. For rapid forcing Felch recommends a diet of whole corn, grit, 

 and raw beef. On this diet, he states, from seven to fourteen ounces can be 

 put on a bird in a week. Some breeders use bread and milk and sugar for 

 forcing. 



A few exhibitors make a practice and it is surely a good one of feeding 

 the birds to be exhibited, for some days prior to sending them to a show, on a 

 diet as nearly as possible like what they will get at the show. Thus the birds 

 are not subjected to an abrupt change of diet as well as of other conditions 

 when sent to the show room. 



