246 MOCKING-BIRD. 



During this season your birds should be 

 richly fed, and have as frequently as pos- 

 sible spiders, which I before remarked, 

 were an excellent revival to their systems, 

 and also grasshoppers. These are their 

 principal food, with other insects, at that 

 season, in a state of nature. They should 

 likewise have meal-worms, which are found 

 in granaries, if they be severely affected. 

 Another great requisite is gravel, which 

 should be kept constantly in the cage. 



But that which is most important, is 

 regularity in the process of feeding. Your 

 birds should be fed every morning at the 

 same time, and not one day at one, and 

 the next at a different hour. Such neglect 

 will render him dispirited and drooping, 

 and he will lose his song, and finally pine 

 away and die, as if believing that the 

 neglect arose because his powers were no 

 longer appreciated. 



