298



Mr. Archibald Simpson,



floor area of the aviary was 12ft. by 9ft., and in due course the

room was tenanted by pairs of the following :—Cockatiels, Bud¬

gerigars. Grey Singing Finches, Golden Breasted Waxbills,

Zebra, Double Banded and Fire Finches, Cordon Blens, Bronze¬

winged Mannikins, Gonldians and Long-tailed Grass Finches,

with odd cocks of Orange, Napoleon and Yellow Weavers and

Paradise Whydahs, and the finest pair of Red Crested Cardinals

I have ever seen, which were obtained from a former lady member

of our Society in exchange for Canaries.


It was quite evident to me from the first that my bird-room

was too crowded to expect breeding to be the success I desired,

and after a time I found myself able to devote two rooms to the

purpose in hand, having in the meantime removed to a somewhat

larger house, and I therefore separated the Parrakeets and larger

birds from the others.


I ran these two aviaries for about four years, and was so

badly affected by bird-fever that I had no time for annual holidays,

always supposing that the state of my finances was such as would

have admitted of my taking them, which was far from being the

case, as the Railway Delivery Van was to be found at my door

two or three times per week, regularly throughout the year,

depositing small boxes which, on examination, were found to

contain specimens of birds in no particular corresponding with

the glowing advertisement which had been responsible for their

arrival. They sometimes lived sufficiently long to regard me as

their food purveyor, but very often “passed in their checks”

within a few hours.


I am afraid my friends regarded me as having had a bad

mental twist, and the partner of my joys and sorrows was at her

wits end to find a more sociable and less costly hobby for her

husband and, at the same time, one which did not involve such

nasty messes. I admit it must have been particularly distressing

to the orderly feminine mind to be constantly finding mealworms

on the drawing-room carpet, and maggots would sometimes take

excursions into the best bedroom, but it needed more than con¬

siderations of this sort to lure me from the avian cult.


My note-book at this period contains some interesting

•details in regard to my purchases. I find that in order to secure



