2 O4 Bird-keep ing. 



little rush baskets and a couple of cocoa-nuts, and all 

 but the Avadavats sleep in these at night. A stalk or 

 two of millet in the ear, a ring of colifichet (French 

 bread), which is very nourishing and strengthening, 

 and a couple of cuttlefish-bones, are suspended in the 

 cage. In winter and when moulting they have a pinch 

 of Cayenne pepper sprinkled on the sand at the bottom 

 of the cage once or twice a week, and when they mope 

 and seem out of sorts, a drop of chloric aether in their 

 drinking-water now and then is beneficial. A friend 

 of mine tells me she finds a few drops of tincture of 

 quinine in water useful in making the feathers grow in 

 difficult moulting. She restored a pair of Cordon 

 Bleus with bare heads and necks to perfect plumage 

 by this. She gave them also egg-shells, which she said 

 they were so fond of that they would take pieces from 

 her hand. I find my birds more attracted by fresh 

 ants' eggs. They will seldom eat green food, but if a 

 leaf or stalk is put into the cage, with some aphides on 

 it, they will soon clear it of them. I have sometimes 

 given them a little boiled milk when they appeared 

 heated, and homoeopathic remedies; but there seems 

 very little to be done for these delicate little creatures 

 if they fall ill, excepting to give them warmth. In the 

 summer they like to bask in the sunshine, and are the 

 better for a little fresh air while the sun shines ; but 

 they must never be exposed to draughts or a sudden 

 change of temperature, and during the night they must 



