DISEASES OF THE BLACKBIRD. 
have his hath regularly every afternoon through the summer, 
taking care that the cage hangs in the heat of the sun the 
while. A quart of water will not he too much for a hlackhird’s 
bath. 
How to feed TnE Blackbird. — The natural food of the 
blackbird in its wild state is worms, insects, and caterpillars of 
all kinds, and fruits, particularly currants, cherries, and goose- 
berries ; indeed, there is no denying that the blackbird is a 
terrible fellow in the orchard. When caged, the staple of its 
food should be raw or cooked lean beef, shredded very fine, and 
mixed with bread. Whenever opportunity serves, to this may 
be added any sort of grub or insect. He is very fond of the 
large smooth green caterpillar. A paste, composed as follows, 
is good food for the blackbird: half a pint of oatmeal, two 
ounces of sweet almonds, a tablespoonful of rape-oil, a tea- 
spoonful of brown sugar, and a teaspoonful of carraway seeds. 
These ingredients should be beaten up together before the fire, 
and then rubbed through a sieve. When the bird is out of 
condition, a tablespoonful of the above may be taken, and with 
it may be mixed the white of an egg, cut up very fine, and a 
pinch of hemp-seed. You need not be afraid to give the black- 
bird a morsel of any sort of vegetables that come to the table ; 
but it will be as well to avoid salt. 
Diseases of the Blackbird, and how to Cure them. — One 
of the diseases to which the blackbird is most subject is that 
known as the pip. It is a small bladder, which forms near the 
bird’s vent, and, if not seen to, will speedily kill him. You 
may know when a blackbird has this disease by the feathers 
beneath the tail becoming brown instead of yellow. Besides 
this, the bird will carry his tail much drooping, and be con- 
tinually pecking at the affected part. The little hard bladder 
may sometimes be softened by the frequent application of a 
salve composed of one part fresh butter and four parts sugar. 
If this does not speedily have the desired effect, you must 
carefully prick the bladder with a fine needle, and drip some 
salad oil on the wound. 
If you observe that he becomes mopish and melancholy, 
sitting with his head on his shoulder and his feathers ruffled, 
put a few grains of cochineal in his drinking water. If he 
should be scoured, put a pinch of magnesia in his water every 
morning till the scouring ceases. Some dainty added to his 
customary food will not fail to raise his spirits — a few hog-lice 
for instance. You must, however, be careful not to pamper 
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