Aviaries. 243 



the glass must be lined throughout. Either concrete, 

 brick, or tile flooring would be needed to keep out 

 vermin, and this should be covered three or four 

 inches thick with sand and gravel, mixed with a little 

 old mortar. The roof should be thickly thatched, 

 and the open rafters will form most comfortable 

 roosting-places for the birds. On one side of the 

 aviary should be a deep porch with a double door, the 

 outer one of wood and the inner one of wire. If this 

 porch were furnished with seats, the birds could be 

 observed with the utmost ease. A fountain playing 

 in the centre of the aviary, with a shallow basin round 

 it for the birds to drink at and bathe in, would add 

 to the beauty of the scene and to the birds' pleasure. 

 If plants were not admitted into it, there must be 

 upright poles with perches nailed on to them in the 

 four corners of the room ; but a better plan would be 

 to have evergreens in pots all round the room, which 

 should be removed and replaced by others when 

 defaced by the birds. A couple of orange and myrtle- 

 trees in tubs, placed in it during the summer would 

 delight them ; fir-trees are the best evergreens. Any 

 shrubs that would be injurious to them must of course 

 be avoided. Boxes of mignonette, chickweed, and 

 groundsel, placed on the window-sill, would be a great 

 acquisition to the birds ; but a constant succession of 

 these plants would be necessary, as they very soon 

 strip them of every flower and leaf. Seed-hoppers 



162 



