BANDING AND KEEPING RECORDS 



95 



young were saved for breeders and permitted to mate 

 in any haphazard way, a few generations of such 

 carelessness brought about such enfeebled constitu- 

 tions that not only was all idea of profit entirely 

 eliminated, but the owner reached a condition of af- 

 fairs that was absolutely without remedy. Nothing 

 could be done except to begin over. 



FIG. 37 — METHOD OF PUTTING OPEN BANDS ON OLD BIRDS. 



A more complete record would include such infor- 

 mation as the number of squabs from each nest, to- 

 gether with their size and details, such as carelessness 

 or extra care on the part of the parents. To facilitate 

 the gathering of information we would number each 

 nest, placing on each a little rack with a card in it. At 

 feeding time a few minutes would enable us to make 

 such notes on the cards as desired. Once a week the 

 cards could be taken to the house at night and their 

 notings transferred to a permanent record, each card 

 being numbered to correspond to the number of 

 the nest from which it was taken. 



