Our  Canaries 
95 
clean,  is  the  ideal,  with  just  the  faintest  suspicion  of  glycerine  on  it ;  it  is  gently 
stroked  all  over  the  bird  in  the  direction  the  feathers  lie  as  the  bird  is  held 
in  the  hand,  gently  grooming  the  feathers  smooth  all  over  the  bird.  When 
successfully  performed  a  beautiful  bloom  and  lustre  will  appear  to  add  life 
to  the  feather  and  the  bird  will  appear  to  the  very  best  advantage.  But  it 
is  extremely  easy  to  overdo  the  matter,  and  if  this  occurs,  even  in  a  slight 
degree,  the  plumage  will  catch  and  hold  every  particle  of  dust  and  dirt  it  comes 
in  contact  with,  even  if  it  does  not,  as  may  easily  happen,  clog  the 
web  of  the  feathers  together  in  such  a  way  that  the  bird  is  utterly  ruined 
for  showing  until  after  its  next  washing  operation.  The  safest  way  for  the 
novice  is  to  see  the  thing  done,  if  possible,  and  then  learn  from  practice  on 
a  few  birds  which  are  not  required  for  showing. 
AS  AN  ALTERNATIVE. 
There  are  two  other  methods  for  the  use  of  this  valuable  shampoo 
which  have  many  adherents.  In  the  one  case,  a  few  drops  of  glycerine  are 
well  mixed  in  the  water  with  which  the  birds  are  sprayed  for  a  day  or  two  after 
the  washing  has  been  performed.  This  method  also  has  slight  risks  of  being 
overdone  or  of  the  birds  not  being  sufficiently  energetic  in  pluming  themselves 
afterwards.  The  other  plan,  and  by  far  the  safest  of  all  for  the  amateur,  is 
to  well  mix  a  small  proportion  of  glycerine  in  the  third  bowl  of  water  in  which 
the  bird  is  rinsed  for  the  last  time  to  complete  the  washing.  The  proportion 
should  be  a  small  teaspoonful  to  a  pint  of  water.  When  thus  used  it  materially 
assists  in  bringing  back  the  bloom  to  the  feather  and  is  so  safe  that  the 
veriest  tyro,  if  adhering  to  these  instructions  as  to  quantity  used,  will  never 
fail.  Then  if  the  birds  are  sprayed  each  day  afterwards,  nothing  will 
surpass  the  use  of  pure  distilled  water,  as  already  mentioned  by  Mr.  J.  W.  Ramsden, 
for  the  process,  and  then  a  final  rub-down  with  a  silk  handkerchief  in  which 
is  not  a  trace  of  glycerine  will  complete  the  toilet. 
In  the  further  manual  grooming  of  birds  for  the  show  bench,  cognisance 
must  be  taken  of  the  variety  in  hand.  All  plain-headed,  short-feathered 
breeds  must  be  smoothed  off  as  neatly  as  possible  about  the  flanks  and 
breast  to  obliterate  any  tendency  to  loose  feathers  or  frill.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Dutch  Frill  should  have  at  least  five  days  to  recover  from  the 
washing  before  being  shown,  and  its  frills  deftly  groomed  in  the  interval  with 
a  camel-hair  brush  in  the  approved  style  and  direction.  Much  can  be  done, 
and  that  quite  legitimately,  in  this  way  to  improve  a  bird's  natural  points. 
A  more  pronounced  and  decided  curl  may  be  given  to  the  frills  where  it  is 
considered  advisable,  and  a  little  divergence  from  the  most  desirable  direction 
of  the  curls  may  often  be  most  successfully  corrected  by  slightly  moistening 
the  offending  plumage  with  a  brush  dipped  in  warm  water  and  gently  brush- 
ing with  a  dry  brush  (which  should  be  warmed  from  time  to  time)  in  the 
