A GUIDE FOR KEEPERS OF POULTRY 139 
same as a laundry woman blues her white things in wash- 
ing. When the operation is finished the fowl will be a 
rather sorry-looking bird, but soon it will begin to preen 
its feathers and before long it will have them smoothed 
out in perfect order and be perfectly white. Keep the 
birds in the drying room until they are perfectly dry, and 
then put them in a coop in the bottom of which there is a 
good coat of clean straw. 
Dip a bit of flannel in sweet oil and then sprinkle on it 
a little emery powder and with this polish the beak and 
shanks. If there is dirt under the scales on the shanks 
remove this with a toothpick and a little sweet oil. Ina 
vial keep a mixture of 2 parts of sweet oil to 1 part of al- 
cohol and with this wash the face and comb to remove 
dirt that has collected in the creases and depressions. If 
the owner is going to the show with his birds this face- 
washing may be delayed until just before the judge is to 
examine the birds. 
Be careful not to break any of the large feathers in 
wings or tail. If any small feathers in breast or back are 
broken or twisted by accident it is perfectly correct to 
pluck them out. Most exhibitors also pluck out black 
feathers in Barred Plymouth Rocks and the feathers 
which show a black speck in all white breeds. There is 
some dispute about the regularity of this, but there is no 
doubt about the practice. How far an exhibitor may go 
without being accused of “faking” is not clearly settled, 
but it is generally agreed that cleaning a fowl, polishing 
beak and shanks, cleaning the face and removing any 
small broken feathers is legitimate. Blueing fowls is dis- 
countenanced by many exhibitors, but it is noticeable 
that none of these has ever exhibited white fowls. 
FANCY FOWLS.—This is a common but rather in- 
