IS IT CRUEL TO KEEP BIRDS? 7 



Now when one of these little workers is 

 made comfortable and happy in a house, and 

 well fed, without exertion of his own, he be- 

 comes exactly as does a human being dis- 

 inclined to work. Thrusting him out of his 

 easy home is, in fact, condemning him to a 

 life of hard labor, which is often as distaste- 

 ful to him as the loss of an income is to a 

 man. To be sure, a captive is deprived of 

 fresh air and his natural out-of-door life, but 

 when he is used to these conditions it is with 

 him a matter of choice as it is with many 

 of us between a life of bondage without la- 

 bor, and freedom with it. 



I have had birds, more than one, who did 

 not care even to leave their cages, who would 

 stay inside all day with the door wide open, 

 perfectly cheerful and contented. But it 

 must be remembered that I spared no thought 

 or labor to supply my birds with everything 

 that would add to their comfort or their pleas- 

 ure. 



I do not deny that most caged birds are 

 unhappy; and because I love them, I am gen- 

 erally made miserable by every one I see, 

 panting and pleading for relief with eager 



