24 OUR HOME PETS 



way, and one that I strongly urge, is to take 

 him yourself. If you do not attend to the 

 matter, the bird-dealer, who regards the little 

 creatures in his cages as so much merchan- 

 dise, may put the frightened bird into a com- 

 mon pasteboard box, with no perch, where 

 the unfortunate prisoner slides and scrambles 

 around in the dark, during his whole trip to 

 your house, arriving wild and tired out, and 

 more than ever convinced of the cruelty of 

 man. I have known one to be so terrorized 

 by this experience that he never recovered 

 from it, but was a shy, nervous fellow forever 

 after. 



Or, if not into a paper box, he may be thrust 

 into one of the small German wooden cages 

 in which canaries travel from Europe. These 

 cages are simply idiotic for any bird bigger 

 than a canary, for the reason that they have 

 two perches, one about an inch and a half 

 from each end. A bird too long to perch so 

 near the bars can only rest on the floor be- 

 tween, with tail and wings held in unnatural 

 positions. It is almost impossible for one to 

 be carried in this way without being fright- 

 ened by the cramped quarters. Usually the 



