i86 .hifimiii In ilic A7'ia)y. 



a\iary were aliiiosi ideal, tlie\' wvvc " Wilderness Aviaries " as 

 the term is used hv a\ ieiilturists ; later, they were merely masses 

 of tan,i,;!ed growth w'th dank and unwholesome herba.^'e 

 beneath. 1 nnist he (|ujte elear, as to food provided, the 

 cleanliness of food \essels, the periodical overhauling" of nest 

 receptacles, all was in ])erfcct order — translating the word 

 wilderness " too literally was responsible for the ill-luck of 

 the later j^eriod. 



At the risk of labouring the point, I had better point out 

 that the term " Wilderness Aviary " has been fancifully applied 

 to the uatiirally planted i^ardcii ai'iary. and " has stuck," but 

 intelligence forbids that it is i)ossible for the largest enclosure 

 to have space for clearings and masses of tangled foliage, and 

 such should not l)e i)erniitted; if it is, the birds during autumn, 

 when things at their best are more or less damp, owing to the 

 heavy night and morning dews, will have to face not merely 

 adverse, but very unhealthy conditions. 



Now, I hope I have made the need clear, and will proceed 

 to try to show what form the icritey eunsidcrs the annual clear 

 up of the, so-called, wilderness flight should take. 



The cleaning, overhauling of nest receptacles, renewal of 

 perching branches (keeping food vessels clean is an everyday 

 matter) is so obvious that 1 shall leave this to be understood; 

 perhaps I had better try and tabulate what I consider should be 

 the autumn procedure. 



(i) The shelter nmst be overhauled — all structural 

 dilapidations should be made good, all cracks of walls and leaks 

 in roof stopped, and a coat of paint or tar given wherever 

 recjuired. 



(2) All bushes, trees, and shrubs should be more or less 

 severely ])runed, according to their need. Their centres should 

 be thinned out and they should be shortened so that there is 

 a S])ace of a foot between their tops and flight roof netting. 

 They should be cut into form so as to be clear of neighbouring 

 bushes. .Space for flight demands that there should be open 

 avenues between the bushes or groups of bushes, not only direct 

 from front to back, but also lateral ones as well. If this be 

 properly done at this season, there will be no need for summer 



