EECEEATIVE SCIENCE. 



95 



value of a kind, fond nurse in the time of sick- 

 ness. How we relish, anything from her fair 

 hand ! We are, sometimes, positively afraid 

 to get well too soon, lest the nurse should dis- 

 appear together with our ailment (?). 



The time required for a bird to moult 

 properly, is ten weeks. The feathers begin 

 to drop earlier or later, according to the heat 

 of the weather. Keep them cheerful, give 

 them plenty of air, and indulge them with 

 nice, ripe, juicy salads. They will then 

 quickly rally, recover their appetites, and 

 pay you liberal interest in the matter of 

 song and affection. 



Aa regards the food of seedAmdiS — of 

 which class I am now more particularly 

 speaking — I would recommend a choice. 

 Give them canary, flax, and ij>(^-turnip ; not 

 new seed, but seed that is at least a year 

 old, and quite sound. Much depends upon 

 the quality of your seed whether your birds 

 thrive well and sing well. I find my feath- 

 ered treasures are greedily fond of grits — 

 such as are used for gruel j they care for 

 little else. Meal in this form, denuded of 

 the husk, is wholesome, and it does them a 

 world of good. 



As regards cleanliness, this is at all times 

 indispensable. Clean trays, nicely scoured, 

 plenty of red pebbly sand, fresh water twice 

 daily, and delicately-clean perches — these are 

 matters of absolute necessity. Search your 

 cages too, very closely, to see if there be 

 any minute vermin secreted in them. If so, 

 change the cage directly and get a new one. 

 These "Thugs" drink up the very life's- 

 blood of your pets' bodies. They sleep in 

 tortiare, and awake in agony. Their exist- 

 ence becomes burthensome. 



I object to the use of the bath in winter, 

 but cannot too strongly commend it in sum- 

 mer. Supply it regularly every morning to 

 all your birds. If any bird has his claws 

 affected by dirt, gently immerse his feet in 

 warm water. Drop them, between two of 

 your partiaUy-closed fingers, into a shallow 



saucer. The dirt will soon become softened by 

 the water, and wiU drop off. Then tenderly 

 dry the bird's legs and feet with a piece of 

 soft rag, pressing lightly the while on his 

 little body, lest his delicate machinery suffer 

 damage from the heat of your warm hand. 



" Medicine " for birds is needless — quite. 

 If fed upon a varied diet, such as egg, mace- 

 rated bread and butter, a plentiful supply of 

 ripe, green salads, and their general food, 

 they will never ail anything. Spread plenty 

 of old bruised mortar — procurable from any 

 dilapidated wall — on their sand. This they 

 eat freely, and it aids their digestion. At 

 night cover their cages over with a piece of 

 baize. Remove it in the morning when the 

 fire has been lighted. Always let your birds 

 face the windows. 



I have already given ample directions for 

 taming cage-birds (see "The Key to a Bird's 

 Heart," in Eeceeative Science, p. 31). 

 I hold in reserve, for future numbers, 

 some other equally astqunding secrets of 

 Nature. Among them are sop^e most inte- 

 resting and cixrious facts connected with my 

 power over wild birds in a garden, making 

 them tame guests at the breakfast-table. I 

 also hope to be able to explain the language 

 of birds and pther animals, and show how 

 capable they are of becoming (as they really 

 deserve to be) our friiends and companions. 

 Long experience in the world of Nature^ 

 my " study " — ^has made me quite a natural 

 magician. I am nothing, if not surrounded 

 by my pets. They talk to me, and I talk to 

 them.. Could I breakfast without themP 

 No ! Nor they without me ! Would I part 

 with them P Not for the universe ! 



Tommy Dot, Slyboots, and Scaramouch, 

 among my birds, and Signor Snibbledibble, 

 first and foremost among the whole race of 

 " Wonderful Warbhng Mice "—give me the 

 society of these my amiable and loving little 

 friends and playfellows, and tvho more happy 

 than I? 



William Kidd. 



