14 



do they will breed weak young ones. 

 An old fancier, who flies first-class 

 birds, will seldom keep one in his 

 place unless he knows the breed of 

 it. I have travelled many miles to 

 buy a kit of birds to pair with my 

 own breed, because the birds I had 

 would not be paired to my satisfac- 

 tion. A tumbling bird should be 

 paired to one that cannot tumble, 

 and then the result will be some 

 very steady-flying young ones. 



The best plan to pair birds is to 

 put them in a cage apart from other 

 birds. The cage should be about 

 two feet long, with a wire partition 

 across the centre, so that they can 

 see each other, but cannot fight. 

 Feed them twice a day, and, in ad- 

 dition to their regular food, give 

 them a sprinkle of hemp seed once 

 a day to make them merry and lively. 

 The best birds should be paired to- 

 gether. 



