Cages and Cage-making. 



and practice to enable you to become your own cage manu- 

 facturer. It is a tedious occupation, to be sure, and more 

 particularly so to those, I should imagine, who are not 

 fanciers themselves ; but with a genuine love for birds, and 

 your enthusiasm wound up to fever-heat, it is astonishing 

 what feats of enterprise and skill you can accomplish. 



If you resolve to make a trial of your talents in this 

 direction, I would advise you, in order that you may have a 

 fair chance of success, to rig up a temporary bench to work 



I G 



FIGS. 1 AND 2. TEMPORARY CARPENTRY BENCH. 



at. A strong old table or, better still, a good old kitchen 

 dresser, which may usually be had for a trifle at a sale by 

 auction, will answer the purpose admirably. Fit on to this 

 what is called in joiner's vernacular "a bench lug" that is, 

 a piece of wood projecting from the left-hand corner of the 

 bench, in front, say from 6in. to 12in. in length, and 

 fastened to a piece of stout wood forming an arm from the 

 under-part of the top of the bench; it must be set at an 

 acute angle, and appear as in Fig. 1. This is to hold the 



B2 



