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FOREWORD 



Allusion has been made to the work of Mr. \V. A. IJlakston. and in such measure 

 as may be possible, cousiderin;,' the changes which have taken place, use will be 

 made of the valuable material which his great treatise contains. 



The coloured i)lates lor the work are Injin Ihe l)riislies ol' Mr. A. F. Lydon and 

 !\Ir. K. !•'. JiailcN. artists whose work needs no reeoniinfiidat ion to lovers of cage-birds. 

 They have necessarily aimed at showing ideal exhibition sjiecimens. and the birds thus 

 skilfully portrayed furnish useful guides to fanciers in their selection of show birds. 

 The illustrations in the te.xt have been chosen with the object of interesting and prac- 

 t legally helping bird-keepers in the successful pursuit oi their hobby, and in this connec- 

 tion the Editor is under no small debt of obligation to the many kind contributors 

 to the journals with which he is so intimately associated. 



Few hobbies are more easily a\ailable to town-dwellers than that of axiculture, 

 and few give the same pleasure with so little ex|)ense. For tlie working man debarred 

 by city surroundings from the pleasures of a garden or allotment, cage-bird keeping 

 offers a welcome relief to the monotony of his daily toil. It is also essentially a home 

 pursuit, and in this respect has its own distinct advantages over many other relaxations. 



Our mission then is to help in the intelligent pursuit of such a humanising and 

 elevating hobby. 



S. 11 Lewek. 



/'/toli\-rnf->t hy Mr. AlUit Silvfr. 



A ri-T MAUl'lE AND TfS OWNER. 



