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pay any more.” Need I say that when the other unfortunate

dealer asked considerably more for his genuine birds, he was

regarded by the unenlightened public in the light of a barefaced

swindler, and the other as a benefactor who had put the public

on their guard !



RANDOM PARAGRAPHS.


By Mrs. Leslie Williams.


I.


My Gouldian Finches—the blackheads—are a merry little

pair, in the pink and polished wax of condition, and well

supplied with pounded egg-shell, cuttle bone, sand, little stones,

and all the etceteras in the way of grass seed and so on that the

heart of a Grass-finch ought to be able to desire. Nevertheless,

Mrs. Gould managed to become egg-bound the other day, to my

horror, for I remembered how fatal this hateful occurrence is said

to be to these birds. In the morning she was jerking her tail

and scuttering in the sand on the floor: I steamed her and

applied a drop of olive oil with a camel’s hair pencil: in the

afternoon she was rather worse, and I repeated the process more

elaborately. When returned to the cage she went to her nest

and I had great hopes. But at io p.m., she was much worse, and

the parts were beginning to look discoloured. I thought—this is

kill or cure. I had (of course) none of my bird books at hand ;

they were all out visiting; and the only help obtainable was

from Russ’s Parrot book, wherein he says “ Break the egg and

press it out.” Now I felt sure someone else—several of them—

said this would kill the bird, but I considered thatit was kill or cure,

and also that in treating mammals it is a good practice to remove

the obstructing body piecemeal provided no injury or abrasion is

inflicted on the mucous membrane of the passage. I covered

the head of a common black pin (there was no virtue in its being

black that I know of, but it came first to hand) with boracic

ointment, introduced it with extreme gentleness and care, and felt

the egg about £ or f of an inch up. Having lubricated the passage

by this means, I removed and turned the pin, and in fear and

trembling reinserted it point forwards and punctured the shell.

I did not attempt the “ press it out.” Three minutes afterwards

the egg was laid, and zvhat a supper that bird ate! She was

perfectly fey with delight at getting rid of her pain, poor mite.

Did I do right, or was it only by great good luck that my

bungling effort succeeded ? I have had a good deal of experience

in the parallel troubles of little dogs, but an atom of Mrs. Gould’s



