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DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 
The treatment is simple. Let the swelling be opened by a lancet, and 
the matter gently squeezed out; afterward foment well with warm 
water ; put the bird upon a diet of oatmeal and green vegetables, and, 
if necessary, give a teaspoonful of castor-oil. Be sure that the roosting- 
place is clean and well ventilated. 
Moulting. — This process is natural, and consists in the gradual exchange 
of old feathers for new ones. Nevertheless it often happens that birds 
in a state of domestication have not sufficient vital energy for the 
accomplishment of the change. They require improved diet, warmth, 
and good water. Of course their roosting-place must be properly sheltered 
and ventilated. A grain or two of cayenne pepper, made into a pill with 
bread, may be given daily with advantage. Saffron is useless ; but a nail, 
or any bit of iron may be put into the drinking-trough, in order to render 
the water chalybeate. 
Fowls are subject to a loss of feathers, which must not be confounded 
with moulting. At first the plumage appears ruffled and disarranged ; 
then the feathers begin to drop out, and continue to fall till the bird is 
greatly denuded. In the mean time it is dull and destitute of appetite, 
and becomes thin and feeble. This disease is most common among 
poultry kept in a limited space, debarred from exercise and fresh air, 
with a wet soil beneath them, having little or no gravel, nor any dust- 
ing-place in which to clean their plumage : it is analogous to the mange 
in cattle, and is not easily cured. A change of diet, good air, cleanliness, 
and a dusting-place (or, as some call it, a dust-bath), are essential. Some 
recommend small quantities of sulphur and nitre mixed with butter to 
be daily given. 
As the successful treatment of diseases may sometimes depend on 
promptitude, it may be useful for every poultry-keeper to have a con- 
venient supply of a few simple medicines. The following may be named 
as rather suggestive than complete : — 1. jalap, in fifteen-grain powders ; 
2. hydr. cum creta, in three and five-grain doses ; 3. cod-liver oil ; 
4. cocoa-nut oil ; 5. flour of brimstone ; 6. Baily’s roup pills. 
In cases where inflammation is suspected, the hydr. cum cretA is 
pronounced by the best judges to be a valuable medicine. To a grown 
fowl five grains, with from five to fifteen grains of jalap (according to 
the strength of the dose required), may be given, jalap is a very good 
poultry medicine. Cocoa-nut oil and flour of brimstone make perhaps 
the best ointment for white comb, and one which is less disfiguring to 
the plumage than turmeric. Baily’s roup pills are almost universally 
known and appreciated. 
SHIPPING POULTRY AND EGGS. — Messrs. Charles R. Huntington & Co., 
produce commission merchants in New York, give the following direc- 
tions as to slaughtering and shipping poultry and eggs : — 
Food in the crop injures the appearance, is liable to sour, and pur- 
chasers object to this worse than useless weight : therefore keep from 
food twenty-four hours before killing. Opening the veins in the neck is 
the best mode of killing. If the head be taken off at first, the skin will 
recede from the neck-bone, presenting a repulsive appearance. Most 
of the poultry sent to this market is “ scalded ” “ or wet-picked,” but 
“dry-picked” is preferred by a few, and sells, to a limited exteut ODly, 
