54 CANARIES AND CAGE-BIRDS. 



should be immersed in boiling water for fully ten minutes. Should any of these 

 smaller arrangements be taken up for nesting purposes, and be found to harbor 

 insects, give them a touch of oil on the places affected. The danger of harboring- 

 parasites is the only objection to the use of cork and similar material, though the 

 risk is exceedingly small in a room where there is gootl ventilation. Ordinary nest- 

 ing-boxes are out of place in a well-furnished aviaiy, but those cast in a rustic mould 

 might be used. The birds select their own nesting-places in which to build, and 

 not a little amusement will be derived from noticing the impossible corners some 

 will fix on. The slightest projection will suffice for one, and he will spend a great 

 amount of time and labor in constructing the nest under circumstances of self- 

 imposed difficulty. Not unfrequently some place will be chosen on which it may 

 seem almost impossible a nest could rest ; but you will find that the Canary is not a 

 bad architect, and generally turns out to be the best judge of a site. Domestica- 

 tion, however, has impaired this wonderful instinctive building faculty ; and it will 

 be seen that some will make attempts which turn out perfectly futile, while others 

 will commence to build on a foundation manifestly sandy, in which case it may be 

 well to supply a nest-box if the bird has shown a determination to settle in that spot. 



Furnish a good supply of nesting material, such as fibrous roots, and long, fine, 

 dry grass from the hedge-side, plenty of moss, and, if it can be had, the coarser 

 kind of lichen ; also soft cow-hair, which can be had from any tan-yard ; or deer's 

 hair, which is always kept in stock at the better class of bird-shops ; a supply of 

 soft feathers will also be appreciated, as will also some rabbit-down. The hair and 

 these latter materials are best packed in small nets, and suspended in positions where 

 the bird can. get a pull at them : if allowed to lie about, the finer stuff will nearly all 

 lie wasted. These are the materials which ought to be supplied ; but there are some 

 which ought not to be admitted on any account, such as cotton, wool, or other 

 long, tough stuff, which can become entangled in the feet. Wool becomes twisted 

 around the feet in a most dangerous way ; and, as it cannot be so readily perceived 

 in a room as in a small cage, a bird may suffer exceedingly, and even lose its toes, 

 before the cause of the misfortune be discovered. 



To complete the furnishing, we might add a small rustic chair, placed in the most 

 retired corner, in which the observer can sit quietly, and watch the busy world at 

 work around him, to do which the only requirement really necessary is, that you do 

 sit quietly, when it matters not if you have a nest within a foot of your elbow, or 

 even built on the back of your chair, things will go on just as unconcernedly in your 

 presence as in your absence. 



A few items, all important in their way, have to be included in our inventory. 

 The floor should be strewed with clean sand, and a supply of old lime rubbish will 

 be found conducive to the general health of the birds. 



In country-places, where they can easily be obtained, thin sods will be a great 

 acquisition ; and almost every part of them will be turned to some good purpose. 

 All work and no play does not suit a Canary any more than the youth in the 

 legendary poem, who is reported to have been made very dull by the process ; and 

 birds, like other animals, are fond of amusing themselves. Nothing entertains 

 them more than giving them something of this kind to pick and pull to pieces, 

 which they will do with many a resolute tug ; and it is this attention to little wants, 



