458 FANCIERS’ 

THE SALT CAT. 
Being thus entered on the head of diet, it necessarily leads 
us to consider a certain useful composition called by the 
Fanciers a salt cat, so named, I suppose, from a certain 
fabulous oral tradition of baking a cat in the time of her 
salaciousness with cummin seed, and some other ingredients, 
as a decoy for your neighbor’s pigeons; this, though handed 
down by some authors as the only method for this purpose, 
is generally laughed at by the gentlemen of the Fancy, and 
never practiced. 
The right salt cat therefore is, or ought to be, thus made: 
Take gravel or drift-sand, loam, such as the brickmakers use, 
and the rubbish of an old wall, or for want of this a less 
quantity of lime,—let there be a gallon of each; add to these 
a pound of cummin seed, a handful of bay salt or saltpetre, 
and beat them all up together into a kind of mortar, mixing 
them up with stale urine, and your pigeons will take great 
delight in it. 
The gravel or sand helps to scour their craws, and is of 
great service to digestion. 
The loam being of an unctuous, oily nature, isa very great 
assistance to them in the discharge of their soft meat, or other 
meat when they are feeding young ones. 
The lime or rubbish helps to harden the shell of their egg ; 
and you will find by experience, that when with egg they 
are prodigiously fond of lime, and will have it some way or 
other, if possible. By this means therefore you keep them 
from pecking the mortar off your own or your neighbors’ 
houses, though the damage from thence accruing cannot but 
be very trifling, for the whole length of their beak, and 
farther they cannot go, cannot reach far enough to loosen 
any tile that is naturally firm. 
The salt and urine is a great provocation to drink, and 
this is no small service to your pigeons, which are of a very 
hot nature. 
The cummin seed, which has a strong smell in which 
pigeons delight, will keep your own pigeons at home, and 
allure others that are straying about, and at a loss where to 
fix upon a habitation. 
(To be continued.) 


Sate Pet Department: 
4a All communications and contributions intended for this depart- 
ment should be addressed to HOWARD I. IRELAND, 318 Stevens Street, 
Camden, N. J., or care of JoseEpH M. WADE, 39 North Ninth St., Philada. 

(For Fanciers’ Journal.) 
PARROTS. 
No. IJJ—Tuer Cockatoo. 
Tuxse birds are generally valued on account of the beauty 
. of their plumage, and the affection they show towards their 
master. The prevailing color of the entire variety is white; 
and they are readily distinguished from the rest of the spe- 
cies by the tuft of movable feathers on the top of their 
heads. This they can elevate or depress at pleasure. They 
seldom can be taught to imitate the human speech; though 
they are the most intelligent of the whole parrot tribe; and 
soon learn to understand and obey their master’s commands. 
They are natives of Australia and the islands of the Indian 
Ocean—living in the woods and feeding on fruits, nuts, and 
berries. They make their nests in decayed trees, and the 
crevices of rocks; and their eggs are generally of a white 


JOURNAL AND POULTRY EXCHANGE. 
color. In captivity they often live to be a hundred years 
old. To be thoroughly tamed they must be taken from the 
nest while quite young. The varieties brought to this coun- 
try are three in number. 
THE GREAT SULPHUR-CRESTED COCKATOO, 
Also called the Great White Cockatoo, is in length seven- 
teen inches. It, in common with the others, has a movable 
tuft on its head about five inches long. The plumage is a 
powdery-white, with the exception of some of the tail feath- 
ers, and the larger wing feathers, which have a yellowish 
tinge. The crest is sulphur-colored. The iris of the eye is 
a dark brown, with a white circle. There is also a smaller 
variety of the Great Sulphur-crested Cockatoo—both natives 
of New Guinea. 
THE GREAT RED-CRESTED COCKATOO. 
This variety is the largest of the species, often reaching a 
length of two feet. The prevailing color of its plumage is 
white, tinged with a very pale rose; the bill is blue-black ; 
the iris of the eyes deep red, with pale gray circles. The 
tail feathers are diversified with yellow. The tuft on its 
head is about six inches long, and is red. It learns readily 
to imitate the voices of fowls and other domestic animals, 
but cannot be taught to talk. 
THE WHITE COCKATOO 
Is about fifteen inches long, and has a tuft of a fine lemon 
color. The tips of the tail feathers are of this color; as is, 
also, a spot located just beneath the eyes. 
In domestication, Cockatoos are generally fed upon white 
bread, soaked in milk; a few vegetables once in a while; 
and occasionally différent kinds of grain. They are gener- 
ally kept in bell-shaped cages, with a double hoop suspended 
from the top for them to exercise in. The cage should be 
large. 

(For Fanciers’ Journal.) 
PARROTS. 
No. IV—Common Parrots. 
Or all the different species of talking birds, that kind 
known simply as the Parrot, is the more generally kept. 
They are somewhat smaller than the two species previously 
given, and make much better talkers. In their wild state 
they associate in flocks; feeding on fruit, nuts, and the seed 
of various plants. In domestication any kind of animal 
food should be carefully expelled from their diet, as it causes 
numberless diseases. They can be fed on nuts, grain, and 
seeds; with occasionally a little ripe fruit or bread soaked 
in warm milk, Carefully avoid giving coffee. 
The different varieties of this species are almost without 
number; but the ones generally kept in confinement we 
will give. 
THE CAROLINA OR ILLINOIS PARROT, 
Oftentimes classed as a Parrakeet, or a Paroquet, is found 
in most of our Southern States. Sometimes they make great 
havoc in apple or pear orchards—opening the fruit to get 
the seeds. They also eat great numbers of mulberries, 
grapes, and pecan nuts. According to Audubon, so intent 
are they on their work of devastation, that the enraged 
owner can creep up within a few yards of them with his 
gun, and kill eight or ten, or even twenty at ashot. The 
living birds will hover over the dead bodies of their com- 
rades until they themselves fall a victim to the gun of the 
