i8 



whiteness. The whiter it is, the fonder the birds are 

 of it — but why this is the case I do not know. 



Brown millet I have always considered to be 

 absolutely useless, for I never knew any bird that 

 would eat it. But Dr. Creswell tells me that birds can 

 be accustomed to it, and will then eat it readily 

 enough. 



The above seeds are all of a dry, floury nature, 

 and free from oil. 



{To be conihuud). 



p06t fIDortcin IReports. 



{Vide Rules). 



Wryneck, lien. (Mr. Nicholson). For five or six weeks 

 before death this bird was noticed to cough and now and 

 then to shake its head, and was treated with various cough 

 medicines etc. Q>\\ post mortem examination I found the air 

 passages and lungs to be perfectly liealth y. But the gizzard 

 was packed ])y a large tightly matted ball of what looked 

 like hairs from human v/hiskers, but which under the 

 microscope were seen to be cocoa-nut fibres. These varied 

 from ^in. to 2in. in length. On my acquainting the owner 

 with this, he at once accounted for it by saying that he 

 liad been in the habit of using this material for the cage 

 bottoms, as being " the best thing he could use." 



This forms a good instance of how what is called 

 experience is gained. Had the bird not been sent to me its 

 death would never have been associated with what was the 

 real cause, but would naturally have been put down to 

 bronchitis, seeing that cough was the prominent symptom. 

 As a matter of fact we see that this cough was due to 

 mechanical irritation of the upper surface of the larynx b}' 

 partially swallowed long fibres; but not knowing this the 

 owner would have felt himself justified in recommending 

 this material to others on the ground that he "had never 

 liad a bird die from its ill effects," and that it was clean, 

 and that the birds seemed to like it etc. 



