VII 



HIS BATH 



THE shape of an ordinary bird's bathing- 

 dish, as sold in the shops, is one more proof of 

 the universal thoughtlessness about the com- 

 fort of the beasts and birds whom we choose 

 to have in our homes. It would be really 

 funny, if it were not painful, to see how abso- 

 lutely unfitted is the dish to its object. It 

 could hardly be more inappropriate if it had 

 been planned with that intention, and the only 

 reason I can imagine for its present shape is 

 the convenience of cage-makers. They have 

 a notion that, to be symmetrical, the door of a 

 cage should bear a certain proportion to the 

 size of a cage, therefore everything that is to 

 go in that door must conform. A round bath 

 narrow enough to enter would be hardly 

 larger than the bird's drinking-cup ; 'but the 

 dish may be lengthened ad infinitum, hence 

 its absurd shape. It actually looks as if the 



