PRESERVATION IN CAPTIVITY. 91 



lovely birds might be introduced into our con- 

 servatories and stoves, where there would be no 

 difficulty in preserving them. Mr. Tarrell has 

 suggested to me, that possibly young ones fed 

 from the nest upon syrup alone might be able to 

 live without insect food." 



Now, granting that out of a large number of 

 individuals some survived the voyage, we again 

 ask, what congenial insect food even in our 

 finest conservatories can be obtained by these 

 birds, however spacious the cage in which they 

 are imprisoned, nay, even though the conserva- 

 tory itself be their range ? With respect to the 

 idea suggested by Mr. Tarrell, we doubt the 

 eventual success of the plan. Syrup may barely 

 support a young Humming-bird for some time, 

 but it will at last die exhausted and emaciated. 



We do not know whether Humming-birds 

 were kept in the grand aviary of Montezuma ; 

 most probably they were ; and if so, we should 

 be the less surprised at the number of attend- 

 ants recorded to have been employed in that 

 vivarium, for the very duty of collecting fresh 

 flowers of different kinds for the supply of these 

 birds must have given employment to a consi- 

 derable party. Unless this supply was afforded, 

 the aviary, as far as the Humming-birds were 

 concerned, would soon have been tenantless. 



It may not be uninteresting to record some of 

 the experiments which have been made with a 

 view to the preservation of certain of the Tro- 



