BIRD ACTORS, 



201 



however, melancholy and refused to eat until another bell had 

 been provided. 



It is said that crushed hemp seed fed to linnets takes away 

 their love of liberty, and that it may be used advantageously 

 when it is desired to teach them to come in through the open 

 window without danger of their flying away. It is advised that 

 they should be confined in a large cage placed in a window 

 looking into a garden, for a considerable time before they are 



^r>.--^^ 



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TAMED BIRDS PEHFOIIMING VARIOUS FEATS. 



allowed to go out. Robins are often permitted to go away 

 during the summer, and instances are often reported of their 

 returning to take up winter quarters in the warm dwelling- 

 house. 



Several individuals have made a regular profession of exhib- 

 iting performing birds. Uniting a peculiar skill and an ex- 

 haustless patience, these men labor ceaselessly in instructing 

 their charges, and the result is that the birds learn to perform 

 many surprising tricks. They are even taught to perform little 

 dramatic scenes together ; representing, for instance, the trial, 

 cjondemnation and execution of a spy, in which the characters 



