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over this lot. The little man let a cat get at them at 

 Pathankote, our nearest railway station, 40 miles ofiF, 

 and I received about ten only. These I did not get 

 much good out of as we left shortly after for a year's 

 garrison duty in Chitral, and I found precious few of 

 my birds left on my return. Still my best thanks are 

 due to them both. I might mention here that I do not 

 recommend aviculture out here (the same at home I 

 fancy) as a paying business owing to the want of a 

 market and the huge difference between buying and 

 selling prices, but still with seed eaters it is not a very 

 expensive game, with ordinary luck. It is rather like 

 putting a little regularly in a bank, having put in a fair 

 amount to start the account, and every now and then 

 pullingout a fat dollop ; the chief difference being that 

 one pays commission instead of receiving interest. In 

 time one could get square, or even make a bit, always 

 supposing that one put a check on buying fresh birds, 

 which is absurd. I often think it is really a good 

 thing for the family that I cannot buy birds except 

 on rare occasions, and that then I have usually to take 

 what I can get. 



Whilst in Chitral fate willed that I should become 

 a house owner, and after that my mind was full of 

 aviary plans, and schemes by which I could fill them, 

 mostly fanciful, but I have got nearer my desires in 

 this line than I ever expected. Of course my mountain 

 stream aviary, in natural surroundings, with Forktails, 

 Redstarts, and Chats of different sorts, with a few 

 Dippers, Whistling Tlirushes, &c., was never serious 

 (must wait to win a Derby Sweep or two for that) but 

 I am now nearer that than I ever expected to be, but 

 that is another story, so are the Gouldiaus a Com- 



