2l6 



be kept warm). On arrival at vSau Francisco my maid, an old 

 Scotch woman, took her to her bedroom. Next day the 

 manager of the hotel came to me and complained of the 

 appalling langnage tny maid was using in her room, and 

 " would I please stop it, as the gentlemen next door would 

 not stay unless she did." It turned out to be Polly— she had 

 caught up the most dreadful curses from the Lascars and fire- 

 men during her three weeks' journey from Sydney, and my 

 poor maid had the benefit. However, Polly soon forgot her 

 bad habits, I am happy to say. 



While in Norway, fishing, I got a Starling. She was the 

 tamest bird I ever had, and used to follow me all over the 

 house and grounds, but it nearly drove us all mad with its 

 everlasting call. It got on everyone's nerves. I think a 

 Starling and a Hedge-Sparrow both have the most irritating 

 call when young. 



Now I have about seventy birds, and am soon going to 

 build aviaries on quite a new plan, so as to have no more than 

 three species (one pair of each) in each aviary, and by this 

 means I think breeding operations will be more likely to prove 

 a success. 



A pair of Cordon Bleus have laid in all seven eggs this year, 

 none of them fertile, and this in my window aviary. I find all 

 the Estriklse love pampas grass. They carry it about in their 

 mouths dancing their most ridiculous love song, and fill the 

 nest with it. At this moment the cock Cordon Bleu has an 

 enormous piece of hay and moss hanging from his tiny beak 

 and is hopping up and down singing hard. 



I have not any soft bills, but when the new aviaries are up 

 I shall start them too. E). W. Vernon. 



