A pigeon-house soon becomes very dirty, and has a most intolerable smell; it should, therefore, be cleaned out as often as practicable, taking care that the cleaning is always done in the morning before mid-day, as pigeons go to roost very early, and, if disturbed in the afternoon, they will very often take a sulky fit, and sit outside of the pigeon-house all night. Pigeons should always be fed in the open air, with peas, small horse-beans, buck-wheat, and old tares, as new tares are said to be unwholesome. They should be supplied with abundance of water, some in a shallow vessel for them to wash in, and some in a wooden trough for them to drink; as they are very cleanly, and will not drink the same water that they have washed in, though they require more water to drink than any of the other inhabitants of the poultry-yard. They require to have access to gravel or sand, and it is customary to supply them with a heap of lime rubbish, over which salt and water has been poured; and in some cases this is put into an earthenware vessel with holes in it, called a salt cat; in other cases a little salt is thrown over a heap of sifted gravel. When pigeons are put in a new house, it is customary to give them cummin seed or asafœtida, as they are so fond of these strong-smelling substances, that they soon take a liking to any place where they are to be found. Pigeons are very hardy, and are subject to very few diseases. The two eggs laid by the female pigeon generally produce a male and female bird; and, when this is the case, if by any chance one of them is killed, it is very difficult to provide the other with a mate. Pigeons are proverbial for their constancy, and the same pair will produce broods for several years in succession.