124 THE PIGEON BOOK 



Mottles, Black and Blue Beards, Blue-bars, and par- 

 ticular Black Selfs, it will be found a great advantage 

 to have an entirely open flight of v^ire mesh for the birds 

 to be turned into during fine weather. Nothing is better 

 for darkening the cere than the rays of the sun, whilst 

 no serious damage will result to the plumage of these 

 particular colours except during moulting time, when it is 

 not advisable to allow too much sun to play on the new 

 feathers during their growth. Quite the contrary is the 

 case with the softer-coloured birds, i.e., reds, yellows, 

 duns, &c., also all colours of Baldheads, to which direct 

 sunlight is simply suicidal. It will bleach the colour, 

 stain the flesh-coloured beaks, and turn the ceres to a 

 nasty pinky tint, which is considered a very bad fault. 

 Nothing looks worse than, say, a Yellow Self, or a Black 

 Bald, with pink ceres. It would make an otherwise 

 champion look almost a waster. Therefore if it is those 

 varieties you are bent upon keeping, see that your lofts 

 are constructed so as to permit of as much fresh air en- 

 tering as you can get, but at the same time as little bright 

 light as possible. For all clear-legged varieties I recom- 

 mend sand for a floor covering, which it will be found 

 keeps the birds by far the most healthy and tight in 

 feather. The birds themselves also prefer it, as they 

 enjoy to pick about amongst it, and, with a little of one 

 of the well-known grits now upon the market occasionally 

 mixed in with it, will keep them busily employed for 

 hours. With the muff-legged varieties sanded floors are 

 almost impossible, unless the loft be exceptionally dry, 

 for should there be the slightest dampness the foot 

 feathers will soon be damaged ; therefore for the feather- 

 legged birds I advise a good thick layer of sawdust on 

 the floors, which must be kept scrupulously clean. This 

 can easily be done if a few minutes are devoted regularly 



