IQO A Pal's Ai'iarics. 



that on account of the adjacent huildint^s our Editor will have 

 mreat trcnilile in entirely clearing;' these rodents, as the burrows 

 are of loni;- standini^-. (T am ha])py to say that these are now 

 cleared.— W.T. P.). 



The lar.L^e aviary is a very tine one about 40 feet lons>" and 

 varying" from 2=^ to 30 feet wide with shed some 18 feet by to 

 feet, well lighted. The flight is lofty and facing south; 

 perh,-i|js tiie only drawback is its being too thickly planted with 

 shrul)s such as cupressus, bamboo, laurel, berberis. spruce fir, 

 and evergreen privet, in addition to rambler roses, forsythia. 

 weigela, honey-suckle, polygonum, and convolvulus, with a 

 standard ash in the centre of the flight. From my point of 

 'view these shrubs, etc., are overgrown, and quite half the space 

 they occupy would he better cleared. (" Forew^arned is fore- 

 armed " — I can assure friend Suggitt he will never be let loose 

 in tliis aviary with a pruning knife, even for half an 

 hour.— W.T. P.). 



I am no advocate of an aviary where all the birds can be 

 seen at a glance, but a too thickly planted enclosure is deprived 

 of much interest. We of course, all differ in these little details. 



I am strongly in favour of yew closely clipped into dense 

 bushes, tree box and privet clipped at least three times a year. 

 These make cosy nesting and sleeping quarters. 



Yew, T think, most bird keepers light shy of, as it has a 

 bad name. 1 have, however, had OA^er a dozen in my aviaries 

 for 15 years, and liave not, to m}'^ knowledge, lost a single bird 

 through their eating the foliage. Many birds are fond of them 

 and T have at least one record of young foreign finches reared 

 almost entirely on the voung shof.ts and buds, and T strongly 

 recommend it after an exhaustive trial. (I know of many similar 

 experiences, yet I mistrust it, and with so many nonpoisonous 

 shrubs to choose from I do not admit it into my aviaries, nor yet 

 take the responsibility of advising its use — the individual 

 aviarist must assume that. — W.T. P.). 



Of course, our Fditor, like the rest of us, is suffering from 

 a shortage of birds. Still, he had a very fair assortment, 

 amongst which, 1 noticed several Avadavats and Java Sparrow^s, 

 Indian Silver-bills, at least three pairs of Himalayan Siskins, 



