12 The Canary Book. 



C and drive them into the end; the other ends of the 



wires being left free. Next drive firmly into the wood some 

 stout pieces of wire in an upright position on each side of 

 the gauge-wires, as close to them as is possible. These upright 

 wires should be left projecting about an-inch-and-a-quarter, 

 and should be slightly bent over in a slanting posture, the 

 one made to lean one way and the other the other alternately. 

 Much of your success will depend on the inclination of these 

 wires, and you must bend them backward or forward, as is 

 necessary, until you find that the wire drawn through them 

 comes out straight, or nearly so. A little practice, combined 

 with patience and perseverance, will enable you to do it satis- 

 factorily. 



If you fail to get the wire quite as straight as you could 

 wish, you can cut off the lengths required and place them 

 on a block of hard wood, and beat them with a wooden mallet, 

 turning them in your hand in the same way as a smith does 

 a piece of heated iron to get it hammered round; but there 

 will be no necessity for this if you succeed in getting youi 

 wire-straightener made properly. 



Any good-natured wire-worker would supply you with an 

 article of this description for a shilling ; but, if he were inclined 

 to be ill-natured, he could easily make it of no use to you. 



COLOURING AND PAINTING CAGES. After you have 

 finished making a breeding-cage, or, better still, before you 

 begin to wire it, it ought to be coloured inside. I generally 

 give mine a coating of thin glue-size first, and after that 

 is quite dry I proceed to colour it with the following compo- 

 sition: Paris whitening and pipeclay, equal proportions. I 

 mix them well together, and then add a small quantity of 

 ultramarine blue (lapis lazuli), which may be obtained from 

 any colourman, and at most chemists' and druggists', just 

 sufficient to make it what is termed a " French white," that 

 is, white with a sort of invisible blue tint. It prevents it 

 from turning yellow, and looks much better. Add to these 

 ingredients a little skimmed milk, sufficient to make it into a 

 thin paste, and afterwards dilute it with soft water to the 



