26 999 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 



QUESTION Is it not possible to get as good eggs from some 

 breeders for $3 per setting as can be gotten from others for $5 ? 

 ANSWER Yes, but not as a general rule. 



QUESTION How do fanciers wash the plumage of fowls in- 

 tended for exhibition? 



ANSWER Have three tubs of water, one quite warm, another 

 lukewarm and another with the chill taken off it. Place the bird in 

 the tub of warm wlater and have an assistant to hold it on its sides. 

 Open the fluff and other parts of the plumage consisting of short, 

 soft feathers, and gently work the water into the plumage thor- 

 oughly. Press the long, stiff feathers in wings and tail between the 

 hands under the water until they are well soaked through. After 

 the entire plumage is well soaked, apply Ivory soap or other good 

 white soap and rub it well into the feathers, rubbing only one way, 

 and that the way the web of the feather runs. The soft feathers can 

 be handled more carelessly without injury. The plumage will stand 

 much more rubbing than one would imagine. After the fowl has 

 been well washed in the first tub, remove it and rinse well in the sec- 

 ond tub of lukewarm water, pressing as much of the soapy water out 

 of the feathers as possible. If the soap is not thoroughly removed the 

 feathers will split and cling together when dry. After the soap has 

 been rinsed out into the second tub of water, immerse the fowl in the 

 third tub, in which there should be dissolved beforehand a small 

 quantity of wash blue sufficient to blue the water as required for 

 clothes. After working the blue water well into the plumage, hold 

 the fowls above the tub and press as much water as possible out of 

 the feathers, then allow it to stand on a clean table or other conven- 

 ient place and dry with a towel, rubbing the right way of the feath- 

 ers. The bird should then be placed in a coop deeply littered with 

 clean straw and placed in front of a fire, but not so close as to blister 

 the comb or plumage. After the feathers are fairly dry on the out- 

 side and commence to assume their natural position, remove the bird 

 from in front of the fire and confine it in a clean coop, where it can 

 plume itself and properly arrange the feathers as they dry. The 

 operation is comparatively easy and one becomes very skillful after 

 a few attempts. 



QUESTION What should be the cut for irregular, indistinct, 

 crescentic or too heavy lacing in all laced varieties ? 



ANSWER One-half to one and one-half points in each section 

 where found. 



QUESTION What should be the cut for crooked keel or breast- 

 bone? 



ANSWER One-half to two points, 



