178 The Aviaries ajid Birds at Hodda7n Castle.. 



It will be seen that all the ranges of aviaries are of 

 handsome appearance and form quite a feature of the gardens. 

 The aviaries are surrounded by long reaches of grass, and 

 grand specimens of conifers, pines, etc. In front of the 

 principal range is the beautiful rock garden, which though of 

 somewhat recent formation, was already giving promise of a 

 unique display of rare Alpine and other flowers. In the midst 

 of the aviaries is set the Bear House, a substantial circular 

 structure of 20 feet diameter, with a shelter attached — it con- 

 tained a young Himalayan Bear, which was very amiable and 

 evidently quite a pet with Mr. and Mrs. Brook and the 

 attendant. 



The photos and plans figure the aviaries very clearly 

 and it is mainly their furnishings and general arrangement that 

 call for description. In the way of food and water hoppers, 

 baths, etc., these are of the normal type, each compartment 

 is amply supplied, and the aviary attendant is continually " on 

 the prowl " among his charges, to remove and replace fouled 

 food and water, and to keep up supplies. The aviary kitchen 

 is an important feature, and here are utensils of every kind 

 for the preparation of such foods as milk sop, fruit syrups, 

 insectile mixture, and one can only say that from " A " to" Z " 

 all details are very complete and hygienic. No expense has 

 been spared to achieve this, or is spared to provide the birds 

 with such foods as will conduce to their general well being. 



A talk with Mr. Brook, after we had done the round of 

 the aviaries, showed how anxious he was in this respect and 

 that absolutely nothing procurable should be lacking for the 

 birds' comfort — I also gleaned that up to the present no at- 

 tempt had been made to supply any of the Birds of Paradise 

 with 7iatural nesting quarters, as so far they had given no 

 signs of inclination to go to nest, and their compartments had 

 been designed so as to give them space for exercise and also 

 for the birds to be mostly on view — and again that it was 

 not always easy to secure them in true pairs. This object 

 has been well achieved, both the inner and outer compartments 

 meet this need fully and even when confined to the inner 

 compartment (during severe weather only) their quarters could 

 never be termed prisons, and the birds are quite at home 

 in them — each compartment contains a nest box or platform 



