HELPFUL HINTS 203 



13. Keep your birds tame; they will work better if you do. 

 1-i. Never rush into your lofts. Always go into your lofls 

 quietly. 



15. Do not place much confidence in the man who is contin- 

 ually making glaring claims for his breeding stock. 



16. Line breeding, if properly practiced, is the most success- 

 ful way of establishing a strain. 



17. If you line breed be very careful about the out-cross 

 which some breeders use. 



18. An out-cross is a cross on another strain which admits 

 new blood into your own strain. 



19. Never feed your birds on the ground. The feed is liable 

 to become damp and sour and ca\ise sour crop. 



20. Be careful about feeding too much wheat as an excessive 

 amount of it -will cause loose bowels. 



21. Never feed cracked corn if it can possibly be avoided. 



22. The self-feeder system of feeding is the most modem and 

 the most sanitary. 



23. Save labor and you save money. 



24. Never leave dirty water in the bath pans. It is not 

 healthy for your birds. 



25. A paralized wing is usually the result of lead poisoning. 

 Never leave empty paint cans in your flys. If it rains in them 

 and the birds drink the water look out for wing trouble. 



26. Scald all drinking vessels once a week and scrub them 

 until clean. 



27. Should you feed twice daily, always be on hand at the 

 feeding hour. 



28. One man can easily care for one thousand pairs oi 

 pigeons if he uses system. 



29. Feed salt to your pigeons only in the form of rock salt. 

 Never feed loose salt as it will kill them. 



30. Standard-bred means bred to a recognized standard. 



31. A cross-bred bird is the offspring of a pair of birds in 

 which the cock and hen were of different breeds. 



