



and Aviaries 193 



sanitation. Yet I have seen the water in the drinking 

 vessels in a most filthy state, even in ladies' drawing- 

 rooms and conservatories, simply because the dear 

 ladies will not use their eyes and their brains, or con- 

 sider that birds are, as a rule, the very cleanliest of God's 

 creatures ; why, then, treat them as if they were Boers, 

 who prefer to have things dirty and to go unwashed ? 



By-the-bye, don't forget the bath, which should 

 always be hung on to the cage door, and not placed 

 inside, because then the sand is wetted so much more, 

 and the cage messed about. 



Perches should be kept clean and sweet, for often- 

 times they are to be seen soiled with dirt ; and in 

 placing them, care should be taken that they are not 

 so close to the wire that the birds' tails will rub 

 against the latter, especially, for instance, with a 

 shama, whose tail is abnormal in length. But a bird 

 of that species should not be kept in a wire cage at 

 all, nor should any softer feathered birds, which the 

 insectivorous ones are. Cages with cane or fine 

 wooden bars are much better, for they do not fray 

 and break the feathers like wire ones. 



Give the cages, at any rate, a spring cleaning, scald 

 them out, repaint and revarnish, if it has already been 

 done in that style. 



In the summer time, in fine weather, they can be 

 hung out of doors, but not in the full sunshine for any 

 undue period, since birds in their wild state are con- 

 stantly shaded by overhanging branches and sheltering 

 leaves, especially in the great heat of mid-day. 



Where there is not too much draught they can be 



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