DISEASES OF CANARY AND OTHER BIRDS. 159 



other animals too, the old adage holds good, that 

 "An ounce of preventive is worth a pound of 

 cure;" and to avoid this and other disorders. I 

 endeavor to get my young Canaries from their 

 soft and luscious food as soon as possible to their 

 plain seed, on which they are much healthier. 



CONSTIPATION, OR COSTIVENESS. The good old 

 singing Canaries, and other birds who live upon 

 seeds, are often troubled with this ailment ; it may 

 be discovered by the bird jerking down his body 

 when he voids, or tries to, and raising his tail. A 

 bit of bread dipped in milk and a blade of cabbage 

 will cure it. It is well to stick a bit of bread, 

 moistened with milk, in the cages of your seed- 

 birds occasionally, it will prove beneficial to them. 



EPILEPSY. This disease some birds are sub- 

 ject to ; bleeding is prescribed by some, by cut- 

 ting one or two of the nails of the claws until 

 they bleed. I prefer cold baths. Many years 

 ago I had a pair of Cardinal Grossbeaks both in 

 one cage ; one day the female had one of these 

 fits ; when I discovered her I found her lying on 

 her back, at the bottom of the cage, pulling her 

 feathers out, and she had succeeded in stripping 

 her lower parts completely bare of feathers ; I 

 immediately took her out and plunged her into 

 the water-pail, and after allowing her time to 



