The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book 



per hand they fairly swarm. They select for their hid- 

 ing-places the cracks and crevices of the loft, in the 

 walls, about the perches, about the nesting-places, under 

 the nest-pans, and even in the nesting-material itself. 

 They are not much seen during the days, but at night 

 they sally out in hordes, making the life of the adult 

 and the squab miserable. They sometimes become such 

 an annoyance that pigeons having their liberty seek 

 other quarters. After a night's incursion, if an examina- 

 tion be made of their haunts, they will be found clustered 

 together, probably for warmth, and red with the blood 

 of their victims. The young squabs suffer at times so 

 much as to retard their growth, and the old birds desert 

 both nests and young. They thrive like the feather- 

 louse, chiefly during hot weather, and this is the time 

 to watch for them, and on the first indications of their 

 presence cut their career short. Make an examination 

 of loft early in the summer, and keep up the supervision 

 while the warm weather lasts. The first indications of 

 their presence will be a little line of bluish-gray dust, 

 seen on the edge of some joint or crack. A closer ex- 

 amination will reveal a colony of the little villains. At 

 once take the kerosene-oil can and fill every crack and 

 crevice full of the oil. This will eradicate them as ef- 

 fectually as anything one can find, as this oil is death to 

 all insect life. Carefully examine the nests and nest-pans 

 and if any are found about them give them the same 

 dose. Frequent observations will free the loft entirely 

 from them until tl:e season is past for them to annoy and 

 make life a burden. 



FLE.'^S 



Sometimes, though seldom, a loft will have a visita- 

 tion from fleas. They are much like the fleas that an- 



iSi 



