186 GARDEN AND AVIARY BIRDS. 
pyramidal, and always of wood, not of netting, so that the 
birds may not be terrified by enemies above them. If 
vermin are very troublesome, the wire-netting should be 
double, the two layers being kept an inch apart by corks 
fixed between at intervals. Upright wires should never 
be employed, as birds are never really safe behind these, 
but may be torn through. 
CAGES FOR SINGLE BIRDS. 
These should always be oblong, so as to allow of two 
perches being put in a good distance apart and on the 
same level; in this way the bird can get good exercise 
by hopping to and fro. Bird-cages are usually cruelly 
small; a bird the size of a Canary requires a square foot of 
space, and others in proportion. The floor of all cages 
should have a moveable tray to facilitate cleaning, 
and the perches should be removeable for the same 
reason. 
PERCHES. 
These are often put in ina very haphazard way, but 
care in their selection is well repaid. For large aviaries 
natural branches of trees or bamboos, with plenty of 
twigs, are the best. For moveable aviary-cages branches 
also do well, if the door of the cage be large enough to 
put them in; the door of any cage should always be 
big, and closed by sliding, not with hinges. 
A row of wooden hat-pegs fixed up against the side 
makes an excellent set of perches for an aviary or large/ 
cage. In either of these some perches should always 
