">0 Pigeons and Ali, About Them. 



flexible, so that when she comes to lay she is able to 

 command the full power of her muscles in the act of 

 voiding the eggs. 



When you put the nest bowls in they should be 

 half filled with sawdust, upon which has been 

 sprinkled a few drops of turpentine. The object of 

 this is to keep down insects. On the top of the saw- 

 dust should be laid a handful of straw, in leng*ths of 

 three or four inches. Before putting the straw in 

 the bowl, rub it well in the hands so as to soften it. 

 If tills is not done, the eggs are apt to roll about the 

 bowl and get cracked, chipped, or smashed altogether. 

 As the birds themselves like to have a hand in mak- 

 ing their nests, a handful or two of this cut straw 

 should be littered about the loft floor. This will 

 aiford them amusement, and also keep them steady 

 and occupied. 



A TI3IE FOR INSPECTION. 



When you see a hen standing about in the nest 

 bowl after the driving process has been in operation 

 for a few days, you should keep a keen eye on her, 

 and if she has not laid when you shut the birds up 

 for the night, you should lift her up and examine 

 her carefully to see if she is egg-bound or not. If she 

 is, the vent is likely to present a swollen and distended 

 appearance, and upon pressing it gently you \\-iri be 

 able to feel the egg ; but if you cannot fed the egg 

 you need ndt worrj-, as bens often stand in the nest 

 bowl at night for a day or two before they lav the 

 first egg. I will say more about egg-binding later 

 on. The first egg is usually laid about four or five 

 o'clock in the afternoon, the next day is missed, 

 and then about one or two o'clock on the third day 

 the hen drops her second egg. During the inten'al 

 between the laying of the first and second egg the 

 hen will mount guard over the first egg, but she will 

 not commence to sit until she lays her second egg. 

 The period of incubation is eighteen days. Son'ie 

 fanciers connnence their reckoning from the date 

 when the first egg is laid, others when the second 

 makes its appearance. If you adopit the former prac- 



