CHAPTER XIII. 



FITTING UP THE STAGING. 



THE most important item among the fixtures of the bird- 

 room is the staging. It should be simple and strong, 

 and properly fixed, with no unnecessary timber about 

 it. In going the round of different bird rooms, one 

 will see many kinds of staging. Some bird-lovers will 

 be content with simple shelves, fixed at various distances 

 from each other, while others will hang the cages on 

 nails driven into the wall. Some place their cages one 

 upon the other, when to get at the bottom one they 

 must move all those above not by any means a desir- 

 able thing to have to do. Good staging, however, may 

 occasionally be seen, evidencing thought in the design, 

 and care in the construction. 



The bird-keeper should be careful to have as few 

 harbours for red-mite as possible, so simplicity must be 

 the first consideration in the design ; further, it must 

 be light, and yet strong enough to bear the weight of 

 several cages. What is actually required is something 

 upon which the cages can be placed, one tier above 

 another, and yet each cage be easily handled. After 

 all, it is doubtful whether anything can be more simple 

 than an ordinary shelf, but one's difficulty lies in the 

 fact that to fix these securelv the wall has to be damaged, 

 and requires a good deal of repair should the room be 

 wanted for another purpose. 



Uprights, with screws in them to lodge the sides of 

 the cages upon, make about the very best staging, but 

 here the great difficulty lies in the fixing of them. If 

 we screw the bottom of the upright to the floor, and 

 wedge the top at the ceiling, we shall possibly do some 

 damage, besides having to run the risk of the whole 



