66 OUR HOME PETS 



next day's operations, and the oil-cloth dried 

 in a moment by a floor-cloth or light mop. 

 As before said, I think I never had a bird who 

 did not delight in his "water privileges." 



The flower-pot saucer is perfect, but it can- 

 not always be procured. Sometimes it is not 

 to be found large enough, and, again, florists 

 do not like to sell them alone, and there is 

 almost no retail sale of the pots. I have more 

 than once bought a plant at a florist's solely 

 to get the saucer for my birds. A further dif- 

 ficulty is that saucers large enough for birds 

 the size of an oriole are rare, and one does not 

 always want to buy a plant large enough to 

 require it. 



At last, when my need of more dishes be- 

 came imperative, I looked about and found a 

 substitute which answered the purpose nearly 

 as well. This was the pressed -tin pie-plate 

 sold by all house-furnishers or dealers in tin- 

 ware. These plates come in all sizes, from 

 six inches diameter the smallest I ever use 

 up to ten or twelve. I got the deepest that 

 come (which still are shallow compared to 

 the china bird-baths), and those with a flat 

 rim nearly half an inch wide. 



