GRIT, CHARCOAL, SALT AND WATER 95 



leam that they eat it in quantities. They require a certain 

 amount of salt daily and it should be kept before them at all 

 times. Do not give in loose form to birds that might be hungry 

 for some, as in such cases they are liable to eat too much, which 

 will make them sick or even kill them. 



A bird that is getting all the salt it wants, however, will not 

 eat too much even if fed to it in loose form. Some people advo- 

 cate the feeding of rock salt in large lumps. Personally I do not 

 favor this plan. It is very hard for the birds to get the amount 

 they desire unless the salt is wet and sometimes then they get 

 it in too large quantities. If a rock of salt is placed out in the 

 fly pen in rainy weather, sally water will run into the ground 

 and birds in order to satisfy their appetites will eat the salty 

 dirt which often is foul and very injurious to them. 



About the best way to supply salt is to artificially rock table 

 salt, which can be done by first moistening and then baking it 

 in a slow oven just as it comes in the sack. By tying a string 

 around the center of the sack, forcing the salt to each end, it 

 will turn to rock easier. These sacks should be put in the nest 

 rooms just as they are and the birds can get what salt they 

 need by picking right through the cloth. They will' soon pick 

 holes through the sack and can then easily get plenty of salt. 

 The cloth will help to hold the lump together and keep it from 

 getting fouled or wasted. 



If after dampening the bag of salt and drying it out in the 

 oven it does not seem firm enough, dampen it again a little and 

 bake it some more. The hotter the oven the quicker the results 

 to a degree that it does not bum the sack. Homemade sacks 

 filled with barrel salt will answer the same purpose. 



SULPHATE OF IRON 



Pigeons require a certain amount of iron in their systems. 

 In some communities there is plenty of iron in the wuier thai 

 they drink, while m others, on account of there being little or 

 no iron in the water, it is necessary to supply tame either in the 

 form of Venetian red or by putting old nails or iron in their 

 dringing water to rusl. 



It is rather difficult to know just what action to take in this 

 matter without knowing the chemical analysis of the water 



