MOULTING OF CAGE-BIRDS. 
11 
be treated, the former with a drop or two of castor-oil, and the latter with 
a lump of chalk to peck at, and a rusty nail in the water. 
Sometimes the bird loses the feathers of the head and neck, and presents 
a most ungainly appearance. In such cases, rub the head with almond oil, 
and feed the bird for a few days on a mixture of lettuce, scalded bread, 
olive oil, and a sprinkling of maw-seed. Health will soon return, and at 
the next moult the bird will recover its lost plumage. 
Fits .—Many birds are apt to fall.down in a fit; if this should occur and 
there should bo no apparent cause for it, you may pull a feather or two out 
of the tail, which will draw blood, and most likely recover him; or he may 
be plunged for a moment in cold water. He is then restored to the cage, 
and induced by every means to drink, and if he can be brought to take a 
single drop he immediately recovers; after this, a drop of spirits of nitre 
should be put into his water-glass for two or three mornings. If birds have 
repeated fits, nothing better can be done than giving frequently a little nitre 
in the water they drink. 
MOULTING OF CAGE-BIRDS. 
Moulting, or changing their feathers, is a natural operation with birds, 
which cannot be prevented, but which must be assisted by care and at¬ 
tention. Cold is the greatest danger to which they are exposed; in pass¬ 
ing through this state, therefore, all draughts of air should be carefully 
guarded against. When the cages are open ones, or have much wire-work, 
they ought to be partly covered up with a cloth, or with paper, to keep the 
birds warm, and the cleaning of the cage need not take place more than 
once a week, though they must be carefully supplied with fresh food and 
water daily. A little saffron in their water, a little nourishing food, and the 
extra warmth occasioned by the covering to the cage, will soon restore the 
birds to a plumage more beautiful than that they cast off. The covering of 
the cage should not be cast off all at once, but gradually; it should then be 
cleaned thoroughly, and the birds have their ordinary food. They should, 
while moulting, be put in the sun for an hour or two, if the weather is fine 
and warm. 
The first moult, which takes place in many birds when they are about 
three months old, is partial. The birds then throw off all their down and 
loose feathers, and produce their full plumage. The month of September 
is the general time for the moulting of old birds. 
TO MAKE GERMAN PASTE. 
This composition may be made in the following manner, of much better 
quality than that which is sold in the shops: Take four fresh eggs, boiled 
very hard, a quarter of a pound of white pease-meal, and about a table¬ 
spoonful of good salad oil—if the least rancid it will not do. The eggs 
must be grated very fine, and mixed with the meal and olive-oil, and the 
whole then be pressed through a tin cullender, to form it into grains, like 
