32 OUR HOME PETS 



thus : First protecting the hand by heavy 

 leathern gloves, the tamer seizes the wild creat- 

 ure by the legs and drags it out of the cage. 

 The parrot has no notion of submitting to 

 fate, and it shrieks, struggles, and bites sav- 

 agely, while the tamer holds it firmly with the 

 left hand, and strokes its back with the right. 

 It now becomes a question of strength of will 

 and physical endurance, for the tamer con- 

 tinues his stroking till the bird gives up, 

 whether it be hours or days (including part 

 of the nights), as it is in the case of a bird of 

 spirit. 



The tamer must remain in a room alone 

 with his pupil, and must never give up his 

 efforts till he yields. The poor captive often 

 holds out till nearly dead of hunger and fa- 

 tigue, but when he is finally conquered, it is 

 for good and all. Though he is tamed, how- 

 ever, he is not won. He always has the bear- 

 ing of a slave who obeys from fear, and nat- 

 urally, he is a pitiful sight to a bird-lover. 



Having accustomed the bird to your pres- 

 ence, the next step is to establish friendly re- 

 lations with him, and to make him happy, 

 something that is almost universally over- 



