72 'AVIARIES, BIRD-ROOMS AND CAGES. 



The seed which is bought in bulk must be kept in a 

 receptacle fit for the purpose, but where it is bought by 

 the sack or bushel, there is nothing to equal a new 

 galvanised sanitary dust bin, such as is used by every 

 householder. It is clean and rat and mice proof, and 

 prevents the seed from becoming damp and musty. 

 For smaller quantities, tin biscuit boxes answer admir- 

 ably, and are easily obtainable. Small quantities of the 

 choicer seeds can be kept in clean jam or pickle jars, 

 which should be perfectly clean and properly labelled. 

 A seed sieve, or sifter, is absolutely necessary, for there 

 is nothing to equal the hand-sifting of seeds, aS no 

 matter how well it is supposed to have been cleaned, we 

 can always manage to get out a little more dust. 



Where a lot of birds are kept, and breeding opera- 

 tions carried on to any extent, a grinding mill will be 

 more than useful. These are now fairly cheap, and 

 made in several patterns. It is as well to purchase one 

 direct from someone who advertises them expressly for 

 the bird-keeper, as they are not all quite suitable for 

 our purpose. 



A good supply of enamelled baths should always 

 be kept, as bathing the birds singly is a long job, and 

 involves considerable loss of time, whereas if baths are 

 hung on the fronts of all the cages at once, some one or 

 other of the inmates is sure to use one at once, and the 

 others cannot resist the temptation of having a dip 

 when they hear him shake his feathers. 



During all the years I have been bird-keeping I 

 have never been able to buy a decent scraper. They 

 are generally made much too flimsily, and so quite un- 

 suitable for the purpose. The best plan is to get a 

 couple specially made out of fairly stout sheet iron, 

 with 18 inch handles to them. These will last for years, 

 and are quite a pleasure to use. 



Before closing these pages just one word must be 

 written concerning the condition of the bird-room. 

 From some the odour has been known to pervade the 

 whole house. This should not be. No one should keep 

 more stock than he is able to properly manage and care 

 for. Let everything in the room be perfectly clean, and 

 let tidiness reign everywhere. When a jar or box of 



