15 



be, and transferred to a larger cage or aviary, in 

 which case, after a slight scraping of the perches, 

 the cage is ready for another occupant. Or should 

 the bird have died, possibly from some contagious 

 disease, the front can be lifted off and thoroughly 

 cleansed, and a new box obtained without any loss to 

 the owner. 



The size is, of course, capable of extension ad 

 infiiiitiivi, but the idea is splendid, and Mr. Acntt has 

 rendered a great service to aviculturists generally, 

 b}^ placing his simple, ingenious and inexpensive 

 discovery at their disposal. 



I 



^bc ifooD of BirD6 in Captivitv?. 



By H. R. FiivT.MER. 

 N January 1900 there appeared an article from my 

 pen under the above heading. In the intro- 

 duction to that article I expressed myself as 

 follows : — 



" If I herein set down anything which is, or appears 

 " to be, contradictory of what I may have said before, I shall not 



" try to explain (or explain away) the inconsistenc}' 



" I try to live and learn, and I find that I often havetoacknow- 

 " ledge myself to have been wrong in the past. Aviculture is 

 " yet in its infancy, and I believe that we shall very likely 

 " soon stumble upon some great discoveries, which will 

 " revolutionize all our ideas about bird food. The food which 

 " I here recommend is, therefore simply what I, in this year 

 " 1900, have found and believe to be the most suitable — it 

 " may not be quite the same as what I should have advised a 

 " few years ago, and perhaps next year I shall advocate sonie- 

 " different." 



I am still of the same opinion, and what I wrote 

 in 1900 applies with equal force to the present article. 

 Indeed, I am more than ever impressed with the 

 transient nature of much of our current avicultural 

 teaching. 



