54 Song Birds. 



Melon seeds, chopped up fine, are often extremely 

 beneficial when a bird has a cold, or seems to be 

 suffering under any change of diet. The Cantaloupe 

 melon is the best kind, as far as I know, to give them. 

 Lettuce seed also is sometimes good. 



The food should always be given early in the day, 

 and it is better not to mix one very favourite seed 

 with the rest, as it is then thrown about so much. I 

 often strew the hemp, for instance, upon the floor, or 

 give it from my own hand. The seed-box, e. should 

 be thoroughly cleaned out constantly, and a small 

 Bieve is very useful for removing dust, and any loose 

 husks can be blown away, and the good seed returned 

 into the box. 



13. It is well to make a great point of seeing at 

 night, that the birds have food enough for next morn- 

 ing's breakfast if it is daylight long before they are 

 fed* I have known great injury done by forgetfulness of 

 birds' early habits ; and a few hours waiting for food 

 in the morning, especially in the case of nestlings, is 

 most severely felt. Very often, indeed, it gives 

 a check from which they do not recover. A bird's 

 day, it must be remembered, is from sunrise to sun- 

 set. In the case of poultry, for example, the principal 

 difficulty attending winter broods lies in the long 

 night, during which the chickens are exposed to 

 remain unfed. 



