71 



British birds is not to be secured by gorging^ with 

 some particular substance at moulting time, but by 

 regularly supplying them with such seeds as they ate 

 when wild, which will of themselves maintain the 

 constituents of the colouring. Iron, I believe, enters 

 very largely into these: iron a bird would get in 

 his water and grit. Sulphur, I understand, is another 

 important factor in colour, and is largely present in 

 rape and canary seed. I should like to see the 

 matter solved, so that we might give our birds a 

 natural colouring diet instead of cayenne, which has 

 been proved to be injurious by Professor Woodroflfe 

 Hill, Dr. Butler, Dr. Bradburn, Jerome, and others, 

 I have, furthermore, witnessed two cases of melanism 

 latel}^ ; one was a Song Thrush, changed almost black 

 through being fed on crushed hemp seed and bread, 

 and another a Sky Lark turned black-and-white, the 

 •darker markings of his plumage black, and the 

 lighter markings white. The Lark, I may say, did 

 not live long, probably through being fed on little 

 or nothing but hemp and bread. Hemp is good 

 for soft or hard-billed birds, in moderation, but not 

 as a staple diet.^' 



Washing birds with a good soap is undoubtedly 

 necessary in a dirty town like London, where the soot 

 falls down on one's birds like so much black snow, so 

 that the dirt becomes almost ingrained in the 

 feathers ; but beyond this I never go ; all artificial 

 dyes, colourings, and dressings I utterly abandon and 

 abhor, whether given as a food, or for outward appli- 

 cation. I prefer seeing the birds in the colour their 

 Creator endowed them with, and, if we find it impos- 

 sible to keep up the beautiful colouring in confine- 



* I gave a lovely Song Tlirush to the keeper of the Victoria Park 

 Aviar}', as it was rather wilder than I liked : now this bird is almost black, 

 its principal food being hemp and barley meal. It is marvellous what au 

 ■effect diet has on a bird's colour. 



