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to advantage. They also get such spiders, earwigs, 

 live ants' cocoons, beetles, aphidae, etc., as my garden 

 (only an ordinary suburban one) supplies. I repeat 

 here that I have yet to come across the seed-eater 

 that will not take, or is not the better for, some live 

 insects. 



Milk Sop : This I am aware is not orthodox, but 

 I find it a safe and valuable food, if prepared with 

 ordinary care, and the food vessel is thoroughly cleansed 

 daily. (Note, I am not a man of leisure who can trot 

 down to my birds two or three times a day ; far from 

 it, the)^ get a supply only in the morning of each da}', 

 excepting green food and fruit, which some of my 

 people renew at mid-da}', and also give another 

 supply of mealworms, etc.) lam bound to supply it 

 for the Varied Lorikeets. I could not put up with 

 these birds in a cage, as it was almost impossible to 

 keep them clean in the time at my disposal. I find 

 the Tanagers and most of the soft-bills take of it 

 fairly freely. Prepared asunder, it will keep fresh for 

 twenty-four hours in the hottest weather. Take two 

 Osborne biscuits, two teaspoonsful of moist sugar, and 

 a teacupful of milk, boil the whole up together, and 

 when cool supply to the birds. I have never yet 

 found this to go sour and it is put in the aviary one 

 morning and not removed till the next. 



I had better add here, that as regards birds kept 

 in smaller enclosures (I keep nothing in a smaller 

 space than 2j ft. by i J ft. by 3 ft. high), I add to the 

 insectile mixture already described a greater pro- 

 portion of sponge cake, ground biscuit, or potato, also 

 limiting the supply of live insects to a given quantity, 

 on the other hand ripe fruit is supplied ad lib. 



