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top, or roof, in the form of a pyramid. Underneath, is fixed a

square platform to hold the food dish ; surrounded on the four

sides by a perch. Mine was suspended from the top of the

aviary by its apex, and the pyramidal roof overhanging the food

saucer on all sides, the food was kept clean and dry, and—being

entirely in the open, though sheltered from sun and rain—very

seldom went sour ; and it also had the advantage of being quite

inaccessible to mice. To take away from the bareness of this

food-holder, and to add to its picturesqueness, the wooden roof

could be thatched with heather, and very pretty it would

look.


The drinking fountain is one of the details, and a very

essential one, upon which a great amount of thought can be

profitably expended. If you have water laid on and are able to

have an outlet to a drain, then the whole thing is at once reduced

merely to the question as to what form the receptacle has to take,

whether merely a zinc dish let into the ground, a picturesque

concrete pool, or a fountain of the conventional type. Whatever

you have, or however arranged, try and avoid any possibility of

the water becoming foul, have every portion accessible for a good

scrubbing periodically, as foul water engenders more disease than

any number of damp raw days. In regard to the general

arrangement of the aviary ; it is better to have the corners

covered in, and packed with pine tree loppings and birch branches,

amongst which large pieces of heather can be crammed, making

an almost impervious screen from the cold winds. In front of this

arrange growing shrubs, to hide the bare branches ; and against

the walls in the centre nail small logs and tree branches

longitudinally, and train ivy over them. The branches form

snug roosting and nesting places, much more so than if the ivy

was nailed flat against the wall.


The centre of the aviary should be laid down with grass;

and if there is room a fairly large tree might be planted in the

middle of the grass plot, but as this would not be required for

cover, it need not necessarily be an evergreen ; a pyramid apple

or pear would be very suitable. The grass should be regularly

mown and swept; the latter is most important, as it continually

freshens the surface and removes all objectionable matter.


A gravel pathway might be arranged alongthe front inside,

as, besides being beneficial for the birds to peck at, it affords a

pretty contrast with the grass.


The above few rough notes may perhaps prove of some



