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kitchen, and my mother did the ordering of dinner 

 etc. down this tube. One evening when the cook was 

 very busy and extremely cross, Polly began the tube 

 whistle from the next room. The cook left her many 

 and varied duties to answer the tube ; of course there 

 was no one there and the cook apparently thought she 

 was mistaken. Hardly had she resumed her duties 

 when again the whistle blew, and again the cook left 

 what she was doing. All would have been well had 

 not Polly again whistled. Cook had a toasting fork in 

 her hand and, I grieve to relate, she used it upon 

 the bird to no small purpose. I feel convinced this was 

 not Polly's first experience of the toasting fork. It 

 was however the last, for after that her temper was so 

 ruined that an approach to the cage was a signal for 

 hostilities, and although before this I could do practi- 

 cally anything with her, I was also included in the 

 ranks of the offenders, and I was never able to handle 

 her again. I relate this incident as a warning to hasty 

 people. Never beat a parrot. If it is necessary to 

 correct her cover her up, but do not beat her with 

 the toasting fork. 



I am at present engaged in the taming of a bird 

 which has only been in England a fortnight. I antici- 

 pate however that ere the month is out she will be 

 perfectly tame. My other Grey, which is only a year 

 old, is perfect and has started talking. She has tre- 

 mendous battles with everything, but is most gentle 

 in her ways. There is one thing to be thankful for, 

 and that is that through common sense bird books and 

 papers the revolting practice of tongue cutting has 

 been done away with. We still have much to learn, 

 but with so useful a paper as Bird Notes now with us 



