2l6 



Two of my birds, a Nightingale and a Wagtail, suffered 

 recently from badly swollen feet, and were in such a condition 

 of general ill-health that I fully expected them to die. I had 

 read that too many mealworms were the cause of the trouble, 

 so I practically stopped them, giving only one or two 

 occasionally. The birds then became painfully thin, without 

 the disease, whatever it was, in any way abating. 



Among other advice which I then sought was Dr. Creswell's. 

 He asked for a bird to be sent to him in the cage it lived in, 

 just as it was: so I sent the Wagtail. The cages I had were of 

 good size and had the food and water inside. A piece of news- 

 paper was placed on the floor and was changed daily. No sand 

 or grit was supplied. 



Dr. Creswell advised that the food and water should be 

 placed outside the cage, that the cage bottoms should be 

 covered with a thick layer of coarse sand, that the perches 

 should be roimd, of various sizes, and consist of ordinary sticks 

 with the bark on and zvith any rough knots allowed to remain, 

 and that they should be changed fairly frequently. He also 

 recommended the food he describes in his article plus plenty 

 of mealwonns. 



Without going into particulars (which perhaps he will 

 give at some time himself,) I may just say that he stated the 

 disease was due, first to insufiicient nutrition in the food I had 

 been supplying (a made-up food which I bought, and a sample 

 of which I sent with the bird), and secondly to the condition of 

 the cage favouring what he calls surgical dirt, which I take to 

 be germs. 



In a week or two he sent the bird back practically cured. 

 It was fatter, though still rather thin, and the acute swelling of 

 the joints was gone, nothing remaining except a slight 

 thickening of the bone in one hind toe-joint. It is now going 

 strong. 



As soon as I got the advice I applied it to the Nightingale, 

 and he almost immediately began to improve and is now com- 

 pletely well, though the disease has left him minus a claw. 



Neither of the birds had any medicine whatever. 



I would advise all our members to read Dr. Creswell's little 

 book, "The Hygiene of Bird Keeping," a cop}' of which I 

 have just obtained from him. 



G. W. MoxoN. 



