30 
CAGE AND SINGING BIRDS. 
it gets hard and inflamed. If you see your bird sitting 
about with its tail bent downwards, and often turning its 
head to peck at the hinder part, where the feathers will most 
likely appear ruffled, suspect that this is the case, and if, on 
exammation, you find it so, rub the gland with some fresh 
butter and sugar mixed together, at the same time clearing 
and enlarging the aperture with a needle, or sharp knife. 
Some persons cut off the gland altogether, but this is a bad 
plan, for although it effects a cure, it deprives the bird of a 
useful organ, for want of which at the next moult it will 
probably die. Bechstein recommend a salve of litharge, 
white lead, and olive oil, to remove the obstruction ; and 
Tscheiner, another German naturalist, states that this evil 
may be remedied by puncturing the gland, compressing it 
frequently, bathing the bird with a syringe, and plucking 
out some of the tail feathers, in the renewal of which the 
accumulated fat is absorbed, and the gland sufficiently re- 
lieved to resume its functions. 
Epilepsy, or Fits, may be caused by an excess of nou- 
rishment and want of exercise ; birds subject to attacks of 
this sort are generally carried off by them after a time ; they 
should be picked up directly they fall, and plunged into cold 
water ; if this is not successful, pare one of the nails close so 
as to draw blood ; if possible, open the beak and get down 
the throat a few drops of olive oil, mixed with sherry wine. 
Some persons pull out a pinion feather, but we doubt the 
benefit of this; if the bird recovers from the fit, keep it 
upon low diet, and give it plenty of cooling and relaxing 
green food. 
Moulting may be considered as a disease, although it is 
a natural and constantly recurring process, by which the 
bird is divested of its old feathers, and clothed with fresh 
ones. Warmth and good stimulating diet is the best mode 
of treatment ; there is no such critical period in the life of a 
bird as the moulting season, and extra care and attention is 
i-equired to carry it safely through : in weakly birds, which 
are deficient in vital energy, the fresh plumage is sometimes 
very slow of development — in this case, a little sherry wine 
occasionally blown over the body will greatly assist tiie pro- 
cess. More remarks upon this subject will be found under 
the head of Canary, and elsewhere. ' 
