l6 Practicai, Biud-Keeping. 



which is, of course, exactly wliat the\' would do iu a state of 

 nature. I will ask you to carefully compare this system with the 

 conventional one of making the bulk of the food supplied arti- 

 ficial and giving a little live insect food as a luxury. 



In the matter of obtaining gentles in the winter I think 

 the best course will be to give you the address of Mr. F. Fishburn, 

 Silsden, Keighley, who can supply at reasonable rates throughout 

 the year. I produce my own gentles in an Incubator which, 

 however, is exceedingly imperfect (being probably the first of 

 its kind) and is so difficult to manage that I cannot recommend 

 it. 



Tlie above system of feeding will be found adequate for all 

 the Warblers in our list, except the little " Fork-tails," and for 

 these I have found Mr. Galloway's system ("L,ife," crumbled 

 York cheese and chopped mealworms) fairly successful. It is 

 important to remember that all insectivorous birds should be fed 

 on as drj'' food as practicable, oue advantage of which is that the 

 crop, which has a tendency to become slimy, is kept in good 

 order. I have known a Blackcap fed successfully on a pe-.iectly 

 dry mixture of Quaker Oats and small seeds, and this is the more 

 remarkable because there is some evidence that insectivorous 

 birds cannot digest seeds unless crushed. I have, however, seen 

 a Black Redstart eating Canary seed, and on several occasions 

 have noticed insectivorous birds feeding their young on small 

 seeds, so the latter may perform some useful function even if not 

 fully digested. 



P.S. — I have omitted to say that ripe fruit should always 

 form part of the diet. 



