Larks. 115 



clogged with dirt or hair, etc., they must be soaked in 

 warm water and very carefully cleansed. He sings 

 best when allowed to range a room or aviary, but 

 requires warmth, and suffers much in moulting. He 

 is subject to tympany, and must be relieved by prick- 

 ing the swollen part with a needle to allow the air to 

 escape; and to obstruction of the oil-gland, which 

 should be pierced and anointed with fresh butter. His 

 claws will sometimes grow diseased and drop off, and 

 for this there is no remedy but the preservative of 

 cleanliness. In addition to the Skylark's food, the 

 Woodlark may have sweet almonds blanched and 

 macerated, with hemp -seed and roasted bullock's 

 heart. He is very fond of a paste made of the crust 

 of a French roll soaked in cold water for half an hour, 

 squeezed dry, and added to three teaspoons-full of 

 wheat flour, half a teaspoon-full of brown sugar, and 

 an ounce of grated carrot ; this should be well mixed 

 and rubbed through a sieve. All these are delicacies; 

 the daily food must be hard egg and bread crumbs. 

 In his natural state, the Woodlark eats insects, grubs, 

 and seeds of various kinds, and green food, the young 

 shoots of wheat, etc. He sings perched on the branch 

 of a tree or circling in the air, and rises nearly as high 

 as the Skylark. He is a smaller bird and yellower than 

 his relative, and has more red about the breast. The 

 hen is a larger and handsomer bird than the cock, and, 

 as she sings a little, is often mistaken for her mate. 



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