FOOD. 29 



of plants. Therefore it is right to feed them in the new 

 condition mostly with maize, together with some oats and the 

 addition of some well-baked wheaten bread, not sour. The 

 maize may be given either raw or boiled. The latter must 

 be done in the following way : It must be soaked until a grain 

 taken out will receive the impression of the finger-nail ; then 

 the water must be poured off, and the grains rubbed dry 

 with a coarse linen cloth. The wheaten bread, say, French bread, 

 or Vienna rolls (not milk bread), must be stale and dried till 

 hard, then broken in pieces and moistened with the smallest 

 possible quantity of water. When it is perfectly soft the crust 

 should be taken off with a knife, and the crumb alone squeezed, 

 so that the whole is soft and crumby, but not sticky or 

 doughy. 



Mr. Karl Hagenbeck was the first to point out, and I entirely 

 agree with him, that all mashy food — that is to say, moistened 

 bread, boiled maize, and the like — are injurious to these 

 parrots, and their use, be it for a short time or for long, is 

 dangerous. 



They should, therefore, be accustomed to feed only on hard 

 dry maize — horse's tooth in preference to pearl — and oats, 

 both, of course, in the very best condition, also on well-baked, 

 dry, not fresh, yet by no means old and dry, wheaten bread, 

 which must on no account be mouldy, smell damp, or taste 

 sour ; instead of this, the well-known ship's biscuit may be 

 given dry and unmoistened. The grains of maize, when they are 

 given dry, must first be scalded with boiling water to kill any 

 possible animal or vegetable parasitical vermin ; of course, it is 

 necessary, after the water has been poured off, to rub them 

 with a clean cloth and put them in a hot place to dry well. 

 With this simple food one may, in my opinion, keep the larger 

 parrots constantly in good condition and avoid all evil or 

 danger. 



As soon as the parrot has become quite at home and 

 thoroughly healthy and strong, one may begin to give it 

 some refreshing additions in the shape of fruit. This should 

 be carefully done with a cherry, grape, a piece of apple, of 

 pear, or the like, according to the season, all, of course, in the 

 best condition. One must, however, at first carefully notice 

 the excretions of the bird, and, if they are slimy, watery, or, 

 indeed, even loose, the giving of fruit must be at once dis- 

 continued. Maize in the head and in a half-ripe condition, 



