143 



" Here suminer like a dream 

 Hushes the nois}' stream 



And storm swept seas; 

 Here the crag's stately crest 

 Gives Jove's great bird her nest 



And woos the breeze." 



I hear they are getting very scarce : my readers may 

 ]iave observed that there are people who cannot see a 

 flower but they must needs go and pick it, and so 

 curtail its short life ; and so it is with a bird — they see 

 it on the wing and down it comes. One asks in 

 amazement, "What did you shoot it for?" "Oh, I 

 thought it was a rare bird," is the ready answer. 



JBreeDino tbc Spice Jfincb. 



By Henry Dart. 



IN the Editorial Notes of the last issue I noticed an 

 account of breeding Canaries without the use of 

 egg, and as I am one of those who look upon 

 egg as an unnecessary trouble, besides doing no 

 good, but rather likely to do harm, especially in the 

 hot weather, perhaps my breeding experiences of thi& 

 year may be of interest. But before I proceed let me 

 say that besides no egg I never give soaked bread or 

 scalded seeds, as are so often recommended by 

 aviculturists. The foods I give, besides the seeds of 

 every kind tliat T find they will eat, are oats (generally 

 crushed), ants' eggs, dried flies, ordinary house flies 

 when I can catch them, all kinds of green stuff, 

 (including a constant supply of apple), sponge cake, a 

 few grocers' currants (especially in the aviary where 

 the Pekins are), and now and then some mealworms. 

 Everything I give I give separate. I do not find they 

 eat much of the sponge cake, ants' eggs, or dried 

 flies. 



In the autumn of 1904 I bought a pair each of 

 Cockatiels, Rosellas, and Yellow Budgerigars, which I 



