Minor Practical Hints. 219 



and a careful watching which, acknowledging that Nature is to some extent interfered with, 

 does what it can to correct irregularities and tide over dil'ficulties not so much the result of a 

 natural as an artificial mode of existence. 



Colour, that is, colour in excess, being of no value, none of the means resorted to to develop 

 it in other varieties are necessary here. We have before shown, we believe on sound artistic 

 grounds, that form and colour should not in some cases be brought into juxtaposition, and we 

 do not hold with adding to form anything which has a tendency towards affecting the eye 

 in another direction. We are not going to stay here to argue the question in all its bearings, 

 but simply state the proposition as one which, in the abstract, requires no demonstration. The 

 Belgian is essentially a development of form, and, we think, appears to most advantage when 

 its natural colour is entirely unassisted, any attempt in that direction being nothing more, 

 even considered from a fancy point of view, than an endeavour to connect the bird with a 

 feature entirely foreign to its spirit and genius. To colour a cast of the " Greek Slave " in 

 warm tones never seemed to us to add to its beauty, and vulgarity sometimes reaches its 

 " acme of stretch " in the use of lacquer and Dutch gilt. Cayenne and similar colour- 

 stimulants are therefore out of place in the Belgian moulting-cage, and the diet should be 

 restricted to the usual nourishing elements best calculated to counteract the drain on the 

 system consequent on the rapid growth of new feather. 



■We conclude our notice of this bird by drawing attention to one or two matters of im- 

 portance which can be referred to in brief. It will be found that in consequence of its erect 

 attitude, occasional looseness of the bowels — which, by the way, is often chronic — will cause an 

 offensive accumulation of the excreta on the long fluffy feathers in the neighbourhood of the 

 vent, which, besides being very unsightly, is a source of inconvenience to the bird. This 

 can be removed by moistening the hardened excreta in warm water and carefully picking 

 off the softened mass, but we should do this only when the looseness is not chronic. 

 When it is so, the operation would require to be repeated too frequently and at the 

 cost of a good deal of handling, affording only temporary relief. In such case it is 

 better at once to clip the feathers in the region of the vent. The reason is obvious : if 

 clipped, the small stumps will remain and no new growth will follow ; but if pulled out, the 

 work will only have to be done over again when the new growth is matured, by which time 

 the accumulation will have become very troublesome, as it is not prudent to meddle with it 

 during the growth of the young feathers at a time when the accidental extraction of one 

 or two would be followed by bleeding. With stock-birds we should always advise cutting 

 away the feathers, but inasmuch as a free use of the scissors would disfigure an exhibition- 

 bird, we should be disposed to resort to washing in preference. We have, however, explained 

 the rationale of the matter, and leave it in the hands of the breeder to act as circumstances 

 may require. 



Belgians are never "tubbed." Sometimes, when they get very dirty, and the tail in particular 

 becomes soiled and perhaps ornamented with a small knob of dirt gathered up from the cage- 

 bottom, the sponge is applied, but anything approaching a thorough wash — the modus opei-andi of 

 which will be detailed in due course — is never attempted. We mean that nothing further than 

 cleansing the tail or the tips of the wings should be done, and this with water only ; on no account 

 be tempted to use soap in giving what is little better than a dry rub. If a bird really must be 

 tubbed, wash it and be done with it, but don't begin to dabble with soap and flannel, giving 

 a touch here and a touch there. A half-washed bird looks worse than if it had never been 

 touched. So far as concerns any risk to the life of the bird, we would not hesitate to wash the 



