110 On the Keeping of Soft-Bills in Cages. 



which can be made palatable to the birds without much trouble, 

 and I have nothing to say against them, but still prefer to 

 mix my own ingredients, as I can then better vary the mix- 

 ture according to the particular taste or requirements of each 

 inldividual bird. 



Dried ants' eggs should form the staple food, but there 

 are ants' eggs and ants' eggs (cocoons is more correct). Be 

 sure that they are fresh and have an agreeable smell of 

 formic acid; they should be of a uniform flesh colour, and 

 each cocoon contains an ant in the njmph state. Those that 

 are grey or black are valueless, as the insect is in too ad- 

 vanced a state of developement and the birds will not par- 

 take of them. 



The next important food is dried flies. There are 

 two kinds imported : — 



1. Muska Zeche, from the swamps of Mexico. 



2. Whiteworm, or Day fly, from the swamps of the 



Danube and Elbe. 

 The former have a strong flshy smell, and small dried 

 up fish are found among them, caught, no douljt, in the meshes 

 of the net when skimming the surface of the water in catching 

 the flies, and of course the fishes should lie picked out tefore 

 using the flies. 



There is no such trouble with the Whiteworm, but in- 

 stead, there are found among them small pieces of charcoal 

 emanating from the embers of fires lit along the banks of the 

 riA'ers to trap the flies by night. 



Other valuable foods are Silkworms (ground) pre- 

 served; preserved yolk of c'^g; cream cheese or dried milk 

 curds (free from sugar); rusks (ground and free from sugar). 

 I do not care for biscuits, as in my opinion they contain 

 matter foreign to and indigestible by cage birds. Sponge 

 cake (ground); hemp seed (ground small); maw seed; carrot 

 (raw and finely grated); and last, but not least, mealworms: 

 but in the use of these my advice is "caution," especially 

 to the novice. Many feet troubles are due to the too fre- 

 quent supply of mealworms. 



The above are the chief foods forming the menu of 

 rnost caged insectivorous birds, and in addition, but not of 



