550 

round. Finally, the trough is covered or protected with 
wires about two inches apart, 'to prevent the pigeons scatter- 
ing the food right and left with their beaks, which they take 
a perverse pleasure in doing, wasting more than they eat, 
unless thus guardéd against. The wires allow plenty of 
room for a bird to put in its head, but no more. If the birds 
are fed by scattering the food on the floor, as some recom- 
mend, there will probably be some left after they have done 
feeding, which remains all night, and becomes more or less 
polluted. Then in the morning, if they are very hungry, it 
will be eaten, which frequently causes purging and death, 
while the owner never suspects the cause. We have seen 
many such cases when birds were fed off the ground, and 
would therefore strongly advise all who keep their pigeons 
confined to use a hopper. Even when birds are penned it 
will be best to feed out of some box or dish, to avoid any 
possibility of their eating soiled food. 
‘The feeding-hopper here described is meant to be made 
of zine, but except as regards security from mice and rats, 
will be equally good in any other material. Should mice 
infest the loft, they may be effectually defied, as regards the 
food, by slinging a board say six inches from the ground by 
four smooth wires at the four corners, and standing the 
hopper upon it. It is of some importance to see to this, for 
independently of the great waste of food when the mice ‘get 
to it,’ food mingled with their excrement and the shells they 
leave—‘ mousy’ food—is another fruitful source of that 
severe obstinate ‘scouring’ so much dreaded by the pigeon- 
fancier. For the same reason, all food should be kept in 
bins or chests, either made of iron or lined with tin or zine, 
wherever mice are likely to abound. 
‘For pigeons left at liberty, the hopper above described 
is less suitable. The owner naturally likes them to feed at 
his feet, which is easily managed by giving them a little 
hempseed now and then—a treat for which they will not 
only come there, but speedily begin to perch upon his per- 
son.” 
[ We have re-engraved the above feeding-trough from Cas- 
sell’s Book of Pigeons. As many of our readers may never 
see the work in question, we will try occasionally to give 
them some of the good things it contains. The above is an 
excellent idea for those who cannot visit their loft frequent- 
ly, and for those who have crowded lofts; otherwise, we 
prefer to feed on the floor, as the pigeons require it. For, 
in the case of feed-troughs with mixed feed they will select 
the kind they like best, which may be the kind least suited 
to their condition. When using a feed-box we would 
recommend to keep it supplied with staple food only, and 
luxuries such as hemp seed, &c., we would feed from the 
hand as required, as by this means the proper quantity can 
be given, and your birds will be much tamer; we would 
always feed from the hand where there is a good floor, and 
the birds are not crowded in the loft. The first idea that 
occurs to an American on seeing a new thing, is, can it be 
improved, and many of our readers will no doubt notice 
that the above feed-trough can be improved. The wires 
are put in (as most fanciers are aware) to prevent the 
pigeons from throwing out the rejected kinds of grain 
which they will always do if not prevented. It ought also 
to be made in such a manner that the pigeons cannot foul 
the grain, but it is not. In addition to the horizontal wires 
there should be a second set from the front of the feeding- 
trough perpendicular and reaching to the projection above. 
We would suggest making it without a bottom, setting it 
on a board prepared for the purpose ; by this method it can 
be cleaned of dust in less than one minute. The board must 
not be set too high from the floor, otherwise, many valuable 
young birds may be lost that would be able to help them- 
selves; this is the experience of the writer.—Ep. ] 


FANCIERS’ JOURNAL AND POULTRY EXCHANGE. 
eT 
Items. 
In order to make our “Item” column as interesting as possible, we 
would be obliged to our readers for contributions of original matter, how- 
ever short—yes, let it be condensed and to the point, in a variety of 
style—facts and fancies interesting to fanciers. 

g@> The origin of ‘* Easter eggs’’—A hen. 
§@s Snieker’s Gap, of the Blue Ridge, Va., is said to be 
alive with quail. 
p@s~ In Lockport a horse, owned by a farmer three miles 
out of town, trotted alone into a blacksmith shop, where he 
had been shod the day before. He was lame, and on pulling 
off one of his shoes it was found that a nail had been driven 
so as to hurt his foot. 
Res Bue Porson Kitts A DuEr.—A pet deer, in City 
Hall Park, Augusta, Ga., was poisoned the other day by 
eating a cake of ‘Sure Pop’’ bug destroyer, which some 
one threw over into the enclosure, either maliciously or 
carelessly. The deer died suddenly after drinking water. 
R@s> Boston has a dog which goes about the street with his 
muzzle attached to his tail, and a blanket, the superscription 
of which gives out that the dog law, which requires the 
wearing of the ornament, does not designate the place of 
wearing it. His owner isa wag. So we see, every dog has 
a wag to his tale. 
s@s> A. man boughtahorse. It was the first one he had ever 
owned. He saw in a newspaper that a side window in a 
stable makes a horse’s eye weak on that side; a window in 
the front hurts his eyes by the glare; a window behind 
makes him squint-eyed ; a window on a diagonal line makes 
him shy when he travels; astable without a window makes 
him blind. He sold the horse. 
n@y- A chap in Brooklyn has been trying to conjure with 
Tennyson’s wand, but he handles it rather awkwardly. 
“Break, break, break! 
O shell that imprisons me, 
Hatch, hatch, hatch! 
O chicken that is to be.” 
And the old hen wearily goes 
To her nest just under the hill, 
To wait for the “Peep!” of the coming chick, 
For a sound of the voice that is still. 
gas When « man milks a cow, he should not attempt to 
smoke a cigar at the same time. A young man out in the 
country tried it, and gét along well enough until he lowered 
his head and touched the cow’s flank with the lighted end 
of his weed. The next instant himself and cigar were 
dreadfully ‘put out.’’? The cow introduced about two tons 
weight into one of her hind legs, and then passed it under 
the milker’s jaw. When he ceased whirling round, and the 
myriads of stars that he saw had disappeared, he said farm- 
ing was the hardest work a man could put his hands to. 
keg As Charles E. Thompson, who resides on West 
Street, Concord, N. H., was engaged in digging up an old 
fence-post one spring day, he discovered a settlement of 
toads under the post, of all sizes—from a ten-cent piece, to 
a full-grown garden toad, and in such abundance that he 
concluded to gather them in a pail, and did not stop unti 
one hundred and forty-two live ones had been collected. 
Without settling whether this is much of a year for toads 
or not, he wants to hear from the man who can match his 
toads from one post-hole. 
