THE AVIARY 137 



tions for preparing food for sitting birds and 

 their young will be found in books devoted to 

 raising canaries ; I have had no experience of 

 that kind. 



The bird family to which I have alluded 

 more than once was kept for a good many 

 years perhaps is to this day in a room in 

 the upper story of a house in Brooklyn. The 

 mistress of it had at the time I knew it, sev- 

 eral years ago, two hundred canaries, all raised 

 from two or three pairs ; and because she had 

 not room for more she was obliged to discour- 

 age their nesting. At one time when I went to 

 see them a persistent little bird had "stolen 

 her nest," as poultry-raisers say. She collected 

 enough stuff for an apology for a nest, placed 

 it on the door-sill, and there the brave little 

 creature was brooding her eggs where every 

 one who entered had to step over her. It was 

 a touching sight, and the mistress could not 

 bring herself to break up the nest so confiding- 

 ly placed. 



With all these busy, happy canaries and I 

 never saw a livelier colony a solitary blue- 

 bird dwelt in peace and contentment. He had 

 been brought to her injured in some way, and 



