CHAPTER IX. 

 THE WASHING OF PIGEONS. 



Those whom duty or pk':isure has taken to any 

 consideralDk' number of exhil3itk)ns will ha\ e noticed 

 that where one Pit^eon shows signs of being well 

 washed there are manv that look as if their introduction 

 to the bath had resulted in their last state being ^\orse 

 than the first. 



Man_\- there are ^\•h() are so nerx'ous, and so afraid 

 of injuring the subject of the bath, that they dare not 

 make the attempt. Now it is absolutely needful for 

 the town dweller, if he keeps any of the lighter 

 plumaged varieties, to know bow to wasln. Birds 

 cannot be kept absolutely spotless in plumage in a 

 district where smuts and smoke aliound. To such an 

 one the knowledge of how to wash makes all the dif- 

 ference between success and tailure in the show pen. 

 The man whose a\'iaries are situated awa\" in some 

 delightful countrv dell, on an open hillside, or near the 

 boundless ocean, has no need to worrv about washing. 

 So clear and bright is the atmosphere in which he and 

 his pets li\"e that lack of condition through atmos- 

 pherical surroundings is imknown to liim. 



DO IT WEI.I. OR NXiT .\T .\LL. 



It is not at all an eas\ task to wash ,a Pigeon unless 

 you are an adept at the practice, and few, verv few, 

 are the fanciers who can truthfully say that thev are 

 experts in the art of washing. One thing must ever 

 be rememljered, that if a bird is badlv washed it looks 

 worse than it would ha\e done had the attempt not 

 been made at all. The washing should .be done 

 thoroughly and smartly, or else left altogether alone. 



At the outset I would sa\ : Xe\er wash a Pigeon 

 imless obliged to do so. A newl\- washed bird looks 

 \-ery handsome and smart, and an occasional tubbing 



