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A FOREIGN AVICULTURISrS BOOKSHELF. 



By II. R. FilvLMER. 



I have been asked to write a series of short articles 

 on "■ ]:)Ooks for foreign-bird keepers " — and in the l^elief 

 that such articles may be of assistance to some of our 

 readers, I am about to comply with the request. 



I shall write about the ])ooks only which are upon 

 my own shelves. My collection of bird-books is con- 

 siderable, but there are, of course, many excellent works 

 upon our sulyect which I do not possess. The fact that 

 I do not mention any particular work must not be 

 regarded as an indication that I think badly of it, but 

 merely that I do not own a copy. 



" Foreign Cage Birds,'''' by C. W. Gednev. This was 

 published by " The Bazaar" Office, I believe in 1879, and 

 has long been out of print. It appeared in the pages of 

 " The Bazaar " newspaper prior to its publication in 

 book form. It is in two volumes — the first and smaller 

 volume treats of Parrots, and the second and larger one 

 of other birds. The author would seem to have been a 

 retired naval officer, who died, I believe, some years ago. 



Mr. Gedney wrote in an interesting way with a 

 considerable knowledge of his subject, and the book was 

 undoubtedly, in its day, a useful one. One of its most 

 aggravating faults is its want of arrangement — the 

 Indigo Finch is placed next after the Orange-cheeked 

 Waxbill, and the Bearded Tit is next to the Double- 

 banded Finch. In every respect it is inferior to Mr. 

 Wiener's work (only a very little later in date) and now that 

 there are so many better books obtainable, I should not 

 advise the aviculturist to invest in the purchase of 

 " Gedney" with the intention of using it as a practical 

 handbook to his hobby. 



The author implies, rather than actually states, that 

 he had succeeded in breeding a number of species which 

 are now well known to very seldom breed successfully in 

 this country. It is possible that the breeding successes 

 were as numerous as he would apparently wish one to 



