206 POULTR?-CRAFT. 
at the height of a man’s waist. This will cause the heat to rise from the sand, and the 
fowls will, with the water in the plumage, secure a steam or Turkish bath that will make 
the plumage spread out to its fullest extent, and be immaculately white. 
“Or, put the bird in a cage with a wire bottom and cut straw that is absolutely clean, 
and set this cage over a register so as to heat the straw to 100 degrees in a room of 70 
degrees; and in this let the bird steam dry. When washing brush the black dirt ont 
from under the scales of the legs and toes, as one cleans one’s finger nails.” [I. K. FELcuH, 
in Reliable Poultry Journal.) 
If a bird does not carry its wings right; if the tail is too fan-like, or too 
pinched; if the sickles do not set right; if anything of this kind is wrong, it 
can and should be made right by frequently stroking, shaping, and manipu- 
lating the feathers with the hands, until at last they take proper positions. 
302. Care of the Head. —If a comb does not set quite right, it can often 
be adjusted by a little manipulation with the fingers. The comb of a Leghorn 
hen that does not lop nicely can be formed in a very short time to shape just 
as desired, axd will stay that way through the show and afterwards. . The 
comb of a male that does not stand true, or bulges over the beak, can be very 
much improved by simply working it as near what it should be as possible 
with the fingers. The wattles, too, yield to treatment ;— and all such methods 
are perfectly legitimate. 
Just previous to the show the head, comb, and wattles should be sponged 
clean, to free them from dirt and dandruff, then rubbed (not smeared) with 
vaseline. 
303. Care of the Feet.—TIf the feet are at all scaly, the thing first in 
order is to get rid of the parasites, (315); afterwards the shanks and toes 
can be well rubbed with vaseline or olive oil. A sound foot once lost can 
never be restored, but if the bird is otherwise good, and the company he is 
going into not too hot, it is worth while to put the bad feet in condition—they 
ought to be taken care of, whether the bird is to be shown or not. 
304. The Food Previous to Exhibition need not vary from the regular 
diet, unless it is necessary to force a fowl to bring it up to weight. If a fowl 
in good condition is much short in weight, forcing is very likely to impair 
its future usefulness in the breeding pen. If the fowl is in poor condition, 
judicious heavy feeding will do it good, aside from increasing its chances of 
winning. For rapid forcing Felch recommends a diet of whole corn, grit, 
and raw beef. On this diet, he states, from seven to fourteen ounces can be 
put on a bird in a week. Some breeders use bread and milk and sugar for 
forcing. 
A few exhibitors make a practice —and it is surely a good one — of feeding 
the birds to be exhibited, for some days prior to sending them to a show, ona 
diet as nearly as possible like what they will get at the show. Thus the birds 
are not subjected to an abrupt change of diet as well as of other conditions 
when sent to the show room. 
