134 PiGEuxs AND All Abol't Them. 



the operation inteiiered with by members of the 

 household, and the operation is not so hkely to cause 

 annoyance to those upon whose shoulders falls the 

 work of the house. Further, the evening is the best 

 time for the birds. A bird should be washed after it 

 has had its evenine meal — though not immediately 

 after — so that the food in its crop may digest and 

 nourish it during the hours intervening between the 

 washing and the next morning. If birds are washed 

 upon an empty crop the\- are more apt to be upset 

 than when thev ha\'e some food inside them ; they 

 also are not so likely to recover from the exhaustion 

 so quicklv. 



THE KXACIv OF H.VNDLING. 



There is much in the knack of handling Pigeons 

 in the washing process, and this takes some little 

 time to acciuire. It is not at all an unusual thing for 

 a no\-ice at A\ashing to pull out a few flight .or tail 

 feathers, even if he does nothing worse ; but practice 

 makes perfect, and in a \ery short time the average 

 individual will have secured the necessary confidence 

 and knack of handling the birds, and he will think 

 no more of putting a team of birds through the order 

 of the bath than he will of taking his own matutinal 

 dip. Confidence in one's own p(nvers is the great 

 essential ; that secured, all else becomes easy. 



The first washing is approached with much fear 

 and trepidation, and although a fancier may have 

 been told how, also have read \erx carefully this 

 chapter on washing, he will be one bv himself if he 

 can commence on his first bird without an^■ qualms 

 of fear as to the result. It is all yew well to read, 

 or be told, how it is done ; it is another thing alto- 

 gether to do it. Reading and hearing about such 

 things are good so far as the\- go, but seeing is 1,000 

 l^er cent, bevond them. More, far more, can be 

 learnt by seeing another fancier put a bird through 

 the bath than can be gathered from being told a 

 dozen times. This being so, if tliere is any possible 

 chance of seeing some skilful operator perform, that 

 chance should be accepted. If \he no\ ice has the 

 acquaintance of some fancier who is an experienced 



