274 Bn-f? Keeping under Difitnilties. 



favourable start, for those first apquisitions of mine towards 

 a collection oi' birds did well; in the course of time I gathered 

 together pairs each oT: Avadavat^, Orange-cheeked and Gold- 

 breasted Waxbills, Silverbills and a Bill Finch. These all lived 

 happilj" together in a medium sized Swis;^ cage. 



Ao time went on I accumulated large uumlicrs of the 

 commoner varieties, and now, when I come to think of it, it 

 is a marvel that I ever succeeded in keeping them; certainly 

 I fed them, in the right way, but I had very little knowledga 

 of ho\^" to treat liirds, and I knew nothing of papers such 

 as " Cage Birds," or the Foreign Bird Club, and it was only by 

 the accidental purchase of a book on Aquaria (Nutshell series) 

 that I first understood that there existed books l)y experi- 

 enced Foreign Bird experts. I was also handicappe:! by being 

 in a perpetual state of moving, and cages wore not good 

 domiciles for my birds, as an army officer's quarters are- 

 draughty. All through 1912 and tl\e treacherous spring of 

 this year I 'had to keep them under most unsuitable conditions, 

 and several times I made up my mind to get rid of them. I 

 was really overstocked liy this time, but in spite of all 

 limitations I managed to establish many acquisitions from 

 various consignments of birds, having meanwhile derived 

 great benefit through the kindne.s of our Hon. Editor. 



In April, 1913, T made a change in my accommodation, 

 buying a ready-made aviary which screws together, and in 

 May, having settled down at Cowes, I erec'.el it there. The 

 climate being mild, tlic liirds improved wonderfully, luit the 

 aviary proved to l^e quite inadequate for my .series of Ini'ds, 

 and being constructed on the "save labour" system, it was 

 difficult to open the door without the birds slipping out; for- 

 tunately most of them relurned though. This aviary was 6 feet 

 long, of the lean-to pattern, 6 feet high at back, and 5 feet 

 in front. The shelter took up 1^- feet, leaving the flight 

 4| feet. Shortly afterwards T visited Binstead, and saw Mr. 

 Yealland's aviary and came to the concludon to arrange a 

 similar flight over the front of my " I'cady-made " aviary, 

 8 feet long, 6 feet deep, and 5 feet high. Tt is not ideal, ])ut, 

 my parents being great gardeners, one nni-t keep within limits. 

 This was completed in July, and tlie weather ])eing warm, 

 the door of the original aviary has been leit open so that the 



