THE CAtfABY. 297 



her in fine condition, though the bread and milk ought to be 

 sparingly administered, it oeing apt to make her too weak and 

 relaxed ; indeed, it ought never to be given unless the hen be 

 seriously unwell. 



" It occasionally happens also that the hen finds great difficulty 

 in laying her egg, a complaint which is sometimes fatal ; when 

 this occurs, I have found that the least drop of salad oil applied 

 to the parts, have afforded immediate relief, and enabled her 

 to lay her egg with ease ; a warm bath is also a good thing 

 when the hen is in this state. As soon as you observe that she 

 labours under this difficulty, take her gently out of the cage and 

 hold her body in some warm water for a few minutes ; in doing this, 

 however, the greatest care must be taken that you do not break the 

 egg, for in that case you will run great risk of losing the bird. 

 When you have given the hen the warm bath, put her carefully 

 back again into the breeding cage, when she will go on her nest 

 and lay her egg with the greatest ease. 



" Canary Birds are also subject to the pip, which is a little pim- 

 ple that comes on the rump, and which sometimes goes away of 

 itself; if, however, at any time it should prove tedious, it may be 

 opened with the point of a fine needle, the matter squeezed out, 

 and a little loaf sugar, moistened in your mouth, laid on the sore, 

 by which it will soon be healed. 



" There is another disease to which young birds as well as old 

 ones are subject, and which consists in a swelling of the body ; to 

 ascertain whether this be the case, catch the bird and take it out 

 of the cage, blow the feathers on one side ; when, if the body 

 appears to project beyond the breast-bone, it is a sure sign that 

 the bird is afflicted with this disorder, for which a little scalded 

 bread and rape seed, prepared as follows, I have found to be an 

 excellent remedy. Take a small piece of stale bread, pour a little 

 boiling water over it, and when it has stood a few minutes, squeeze 

 it quite dry. Next pour some boiling water over a little rape 

 seed, and let it stand covered over for five minutes, when the 

 water must be poured off, and the rape seed rubbed dry in a 

 cloth ; when this is done, take a knife, and having bruised the 

 seed with it, mix it with the bread which you have previously 

 scalded, so as to make a kind of paste. 



" This disorder generally proceeds from the birds' taking cold, 

 either through being hung in a draught of air, or more frequently 

 from their being allowed too much water to wash in, a circum- 

 stance which ought particularly to be guarded against, more espe- 

 cially when the birds are moulting, as at such times they are ex- 

 tremely tender, and apt to take cold, owing partly to the disordered 

 state of their bodies, and partly owing to their being thin of fea- 



