SUPPLEMENT 



117 



squab-house and letting the pans stand be- 

 fore them for about an hour. If you let 

 the water stand in the bath pans in the 

 squab-house in the winter time all day, 

 they will splash too much out onto the 

 floor, and the house will get damp. 



We fill and empty the bath pans three 

 times a day in the summer time. If your 

 plant is a small one, it is not necessary 

 to do that. The best way for you to man- 

 age is this: At evening (sunset, sometimes 

 before) your birds will all leave the flying 

 pen for their nests and perches inside. 

 Then fill the bath pans with water. When 

 the following day dawns, and before you 

 are up, the pigeons will fly out and take 

 a bath. When you get up, go to your 

 pigeons and empty the bath pans, turning 

 them bottomside up and leaving them that 

 way all day. 



The price of these sixteen-inch bath 

 pans is forty cents, crated ready for ship- 

 ment. 



KILLING WITH A KNIFE. Some deal- 

 ers in squabs wish them to be killed with 

 a knife as this gets out the blood and 

 makes the flesh somewhat whiter. Find 

 out whether or not the man to whom you 

 are going to sell the squabs wants them 

 bled. The way to kill them with a knife 

 is to insert the knife inside the bill and 

 cut the jugular vein. Then hang up the 

 squab bill downward and let the blood 

 drain out. By using the knife on the in- 

 side of the throat you do not make a 

 wound which is visible to the eye of the 

 consumer. Use a knife with a long, nar- 

 row, sharp blade. 



CONCERNING NEST-BOXES. Many 

 customers who do not use egg-crates or 

 orange boxes, but build their nest-boxes of 

 half-inch or five-eighths lumber, have 

 written us that they have used the con- 

 struction which we illustrate herewith, 

 and which is good, because cleaning can 

 be better done. 



The bottoms of the nest-boxes are re- 

 movable and rest on cleats, as the pic- 

 ture shows. The cleats are seven-eighths 

 or one inch square and are nailed to the 

 uprights. 



When this construction is employed, it is 

 not necessary that you have a block or 

 basa screwed to our nappy or nest-bowl. 

 The nappy or nest-bowl may be screwed 

 directly onto this removable nest-box 

 bottom. 



It is not necessary, and not advisable, 

 to nail a strip of wood across the fronts 

 of the nest-boxes, to prevent the squabs 

 from falling out. The plain nest-box con- 

 struction is better in every way. Begin- 

 ners who tack strips of wood across the 

 fronts or who make a closed, dark nest- 

 box, invariably abandon such construction 

 after a few months' use of it. 



The squabs stay in the nest until they 

 are ready to leave it, and it is very rare 

 to find one on the floor. It will be noticed 

 that in the cities, the street pigeons' nests 



in many cases will be found on the open 

 cornices of high buildings, and if squabs 



stay in such nests until they are able to 

 fly, the beginner with squabs ought not to 

 be worried about his birds' nests which ara 

 only a few feet from the floor. 



SQUABS IN CHICAGO. The following 

 article is taken from the Chicago Ameri- 

 can: 

 SQUAB FARMING IS A NEW CHICAGO 



INDUSTRY. 

 LITTLE CAPITAL IS REQUIRED AND 



PERSONS OF GOOD JUDGMENT 



AND CARE CAN REALIZE GOOD 



PROFITS FROM PIGEON CULTURE. 



If all the birds in all the pies were sud- 

 denly to lift their voices in song like 

 those in the nursery rhyme, the chorus 

 would be loud and long, for raising cf 

 squabs for food is a constantly growing 

 and lucrative industry, and withal very 

 fascinating. 



A number of farms each sheltering sev- 

 eral hundred birds are* being conducted 

 within easy reach of the Chicago market. 



Such clubs as the Union League and 

 Athletic are always ready buyers. Plump 

 birds are readily sold for a dollar apiece 

 for breeding purposes, and their squabs 

 at $4 a dozen for food. As in any field of 

 labor the best results come from studied 

 and carefully planned effort. Utmost 

 cleanliness in food and in the little com- 

 partments to which each bird comes with 

 unerring instinct to nest enters largely in 

 success. 



Eggs of clear black or white birds are 

 difficult to hatch because the birds of 

 those colors ara very restless and nervous, 

 not caring for their eggs; sometimes only 

 one in a dozen being matured. 



In four weeks the young bird is ready 

 for the market. Many of the squab farms 

 are side issues of those employed at other 

 vocations during the day, and bid fair to 

 attract the attention of those seeking 

 quick returns from a small outlay. 



Attention to recognized habits of the 

 birds, sanitary conditions and good breeds 



