190 Management of Cages 



have caught it. On the contrary, he seemed to think 

 it perfectly possible. 



The poor little bird shivered, his eyes sunk into his 

 head, and he barely ate a morsel. 



As soon as he ceased his daily song I knew some- 

 thing was amiss, and immediately covered up all but 

 the front of his cage — which is one of Indian split 

 bamboo, open on all sides — and at night left a small 

 lamp burning where no harm could come of it, so that 

 the light fell just upon the food and water vessels. 



In his drinking water I gave him a daily dose, 

 made from a prescription taken from a very useful 

 book on British birds by Wallace, in which various 

 bird ailments are described, along with their cures. 



In this instance I selected the medicine recom- 

 mended for catarrh, and found it effectual. 



The fact that the nightingale was able to eat and 

 drink at any time of the long winter night no doubt 

 helped his recovery considerably ; and recover he did, 

 regaining his health, with more vehement song than 

 ever, so that by March, in spite of easterly winds of 

 the most bitter description, he was almost too loud for 

 one's sitting-room, when one wished to converse with 

 friends and visitors. 



I found another prescription from this same book 

 most efficacious in a case of inflammation of the 

 stomach in my rock thrush. 



Parrish's chemical food is good to put in the water 

 once or twice a week in winter time. But only 

 experience will teach one how to treat birds, both ill 

 and well ; and only careful observance will show the 



