Our  Canaries 
93 
round  the  beak,  which  very  often  you  will  find  extra  dirty.  The  neck  I  pay 
special  attention  to,  as  this  is  considered  the  dirtiest  part  and  the  most  difficult 
to  do. 
SOME  USEFUL  HINTS. 
**  Do  the  job  thoroughly.  It  requires  work  to  get  the  dirt  out.  Don't 
be  worried  about  the  soap  entering  the  birds'  eyes.  The  soap  won't  harm 
them.  You  can  now  transfer  the  bird  to  the  other  basin  and  give  it  a  good 
rinsing,  cleansing  it  from  every  particle  of  soap.  If  you  leave  the  least  bit 
of  soap  in  the  feather,  all  your  labour  will  have  been  in  vain.  The  washing 
process  is  always  an  exhausting  one  for  the  bird,  however  proficient  the 
operator  may  be.  The  novice  who  washes  a  bird  for  the  first  time,  generally 
thinks  that  the  bird  he  has  experimented  with  is  booked  to  go  where  so  many  other 
birds  have  gone,  but  by  careful  handling,  seeing  that  it  does  not  contract  a 
chill,  and  going  through  the  process  as  quickly  and  efficiently  as  possible,  in 
a  matter  of  half  an  hour's  time  after  it  has  been  placed  into  the  drying  cage 
it  will  be  seen  trimming  its  feathers  and  returning  to  its  former  self.  After 
giving  the  bird  a  good  rinsing  go  over  it  with  the  sponge  to  take  away  the 
moisture  out  of  the  feathers."  It  will  now  be  ready  to  wrap  in  one  of  the 
drying  cloths  and  place  either  upon  the  drying  board  or  in  the  archway  of  the 
drying  apparatus,  as  the  case  may  be,  for  the  initial  stage  of  drying.  "  Some 
fanciers,"  goes  on  our  contributor,  "  recommend  starting  washing  the  birds  at 
their  heads  first,  but  my  experience  is  that  by  leaving  the  head  until  last  you 
exhaust  a  bird  very  much  less,  and  consequently,  the  quicker  it  comes  into 
condition  again.  The  proper,  and  by  far  the  best,  way  is  to  wash  the 
feathers  the  same  way  as  they  lay,  as,  if  you  do  otherwise,  you  are  almost  certain 
to  break  or  damage  some  of  the  quills,  and  that  would  spoil  a  bird  for 
exhibition  purposes. 
"  Some  of  the  birds  may  sit  a  little  mopy  when  placed  in  the  drying 
cage.  If  so,  stir  them  up,  and  keep  them  on  the  move,  thus  preventing  their 
catching  a  cold,  and  assisting  them  to  get  dry  by  compelling  them  to  hop 
from  one  perch  to  the  other,  to  and  fro.  In  a  very  short  time  your  birds 
will  appear  to  be  none  the  worse,  and  will  possess  a  much  brighter  and  brilliant 
appearance.  When  you  take  the  birds  out  of  the  drying  cage  place  each  one 
into  a  small  cage  separately  (I  always  use  show  cages  for  the  purpose)  to  dry 
thoroughly.  It  is  advisable  to  leave  them  downstairs  overnight,  covering  them 
over  with  something  to  keep  them  warm  and  free  from  any  draught.  By 
morning  they  will  be  ready  for  removing  to  their  usual  room,  and  the  first 
thing  to  be  done  is  to  syringe  them.  This  should  be  done  for  two  or  three 
mornings,  or  if  you  should  prefer  to  run  them  back  into  their  own  cages 
(which  must  have  been  previously  well  cleaned  out  and  be  free  from  any 
dust),  you  might  with  advantage  hang  on  a  bath.     It  is  very  often  the  case 
