58 



CANARIES, HYBRIDS, AND BRITISH BIRDS 



The Seed- 

 Hopper. 



by no means oIjJccI to tlicir l)cinif made 

 lixturcs. One way is as liaiuly as ihe 

 othei'. We always like to see tlie I'ront 

 oi' a cage cut up as little as |)()ssihlc, though 

 sundry useful contrivances, such as neat 

 earthenware egg-drawers, can be inserted 

 in the i'ront, and are very convenient for 

 general j^urposes. Experience will suggest 

 many things of this kind, which it is (piite 

 lumecessary to enter into here, their 

 adoption or rejection being matters of 

 taste and ingenuity. 



Two ai)pliances only are now necessary 

 tf) make our cage tenantable — the sced- 

 ho])pcr and water-vessels. On 

 this page is shown a double 

 seed-hopper, which sujiplics 

 the two compartments of the cage. A 

 wooden partition, fixed in the centre of the 

 hopper, gives it tM'o advantages. In the first 

 ]>laee it jirevcnts the birds from quarrelling 

 with each other, should one in each com- 



jiartment be feed- 

 ing at the same 

 time, and in the 

 second ])lace, 

 shoidd it be neces- 

 sary, it enables 

 the seed nnxturc 

 for the two com- 

 partments to be varied. l''or instance, 

 in one compartment may be a pair of birds 

 which arc fee<ling their young, and in the 

 other a single bird oi- a pair nesting: ni 

 such a case it is ol)\ious that a \ai-ialioii 

 in the seed would be neccssai'y for the 

 two sctsof occii|)ants. 'rhercfoi'c, though the 

 double hoppers arc coiiNciiienl. we pi'cfcr 

 a single hop])er (half the length of llic 

 double one) for each compart mcnl . and in 

 our o])ini(iu they ai'c much handier and 

 easier for the amateur to m;ike. 



It is not necessary to fui'iiish any spccilic 

 dimensions for a hopper, but when we sav 

 that a double one nuisl ])c made long 

 enough to co\(r both sets of seed-holes, 

 it will be obvious that to lit our cage and 

 system of \\iriug it will ]-((|nire to i)c 

 7 inches oi- c\en S inches in length. The 

 dc])th is iinmateriai. but fi'om 1.', inches 

 to 'J inches is am])le, with a width of, say. 



DOUBLE SEKD-HOPFKK. 



2 inches. Nothing is gained by increasing 

 these dimensions, cxcejit that more seed 

 is required to fill the hop|)er. It makes 

 no dilTcrenec in the consumption. There 

 is a fashion in hoppers as in many other 

 things, the front being sometimes carried 

 round in a curve, or cut off at an acute 

 angle ; the one we illustrate, we think, 

 is as easy to make and looks as well 

 as any. The two sloping ends are groo\ed 

 for the recejition of a jiicce of glass, which 

 prevents the birds from throwing out the 

 seed — a thing they will do aj^parently in 

 s]iort, or in wanton waste, whenever a fresh 

 siq>])ly is given. 



'I'he middle ])artition in the doid^lc hopper 

 is made just suilieicntly high to allow the 

 glass top to slide over it. This glass also 

 alTords light for the birds to feed by, and 

 enables them to see the seed without 

 dilfieulty, e\"en in a cage to which they 

 are not accustomed. 



The old-fashioned seed-drawer, with the 

 holes inside the cage, is now almost obso- 

 lete. As a method of su|)plying food it 

 may be as good as any other, but the 

 trouble of making and fixing the inside 

 box, couj)lcd ^vitli the facilities it affords 

 to insects and the difficulty of getting at 

 them, have caused the hopper to super- 

 sede it. 



Some old-fashioned fanciers, however, 

 have a liking for old-fashioned contrivances, 

 and still stick to this seed-drawer. We 

 have no wish to try to |)ei'siiadc them to 

 the contrary, but would simply point out 

 that the seed-hopper is nuich the l)etter, 

 if only for the reasdii that the seed is kt-pt 

 clean and free from the birds" droppings. 



()!' water- vessels there is an endless 



\aric-ty of patlci-ns and materials. We 



will iKil undertake to I'ccom- 



,' 7 meiul one as bemy- sunel'ioi- to 



Vessels. ' 



another, but geucrally wc use 



the ordiiiar\' opcu-to|i round glass vessel, 

 illustrated on the next page. It is egg- 

 shaped inside, so has no corners at the 

 bottom: it is eonsecjuently easily cleaned 

 out and kept clean. It is easily adjusted 

 to the cage, as it requires only a ])iece 

 of wire bent round lo its si/.c with tlie lauls 



