of the weakness of the wing must first be discovered 

 or all the trouble at treating will be of no avail 

 whatever. 



GOING LIGHT. 



Probably there is not a fancier or pigeon owner 

 but will with me agree that this disease is one of 

 the most common and the most dangerous that he 

 has to contend with in his pigeon loft. All birds 

 fare alike, it afflicting the fancy and the common 

 varieties in this respect the same. It is an exceed- 

 ingly contagious disease and often when it once ap- 

 pears whole lofts are completely wiped out in a 

 very short time. It is contracted to healthy birds 

 through the excrement, the bird having eaten food 

 containing the germs, or drinking water into which 

 some of the droppings of the sick bird had fallen. 

 It must always be considered a fatal disease in all 

 cases, but it can often be checked and cured if the 

 proper attention and treatment is -given in time be- 

 fore the disease has advanced too far. It is said that 

 birds if they once recover from this disease will 

 never again contract it. This is however very doubt- 

 ful. It was heretofore understood' that this disease 

 was confined to highly bred birds and ones kept in 

 confinement, but I have quite frequently observed 

 birds having their freedom to become ill and die off 

 rapidly with this disease. Going Light is a name 

 applied to that disease of wasting away in which 

 diarrhoea is the prominent symptom, and it should 

 not be confounded with the wasting of lead poisoning 

 for in that there is obstinate constipation. Old birds 

 live quite a length of time sometimes when afliicted, 

 but when it attacks their young they seldom live 



44 



