Vol. XIV 
1897 
Correspondence. 25. 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
Captive Wild Birds. 
cm 
To THE EpITORS OF HE AUK’: — 
Dear Strs:—VThave read with great pleasure in your January issue, 
Mr. Owen’s interesting paper on a captive Hermit Thrush, but there is 
one point in connection with his treatment of the bird — his liberating 
him —on which I should like to say a few words, particularly as it is 
almost universally supposed that to give a caged bird freedom, is a kind 
thing to do, and the happiest for the bird. He had taken the young 
Hermit before his training for a free life was finished, and accustomed 
him to having his wants supplied and his safety assured, without effort 
of his own. Then, when the season was nearly over, he thrust the young 
creature out into the world to forage for himself. The bird had not 
learned to seek his own food, nor, probably, to care for his own safety, 
and his natural ties were completely severed, so that he had no instructor. 
This is frequently done, and of course from the kindest motives, but it 
has always seemed to me a great mistake, and a cruelty to the young 
bird, to deprive him at one stroke of home, protection, shelter and food. 
According to my experience, when birds are thoroughly well treated, 
not too closely confined to cages, and made happy under human care, 
they learn to appreciate it, and many of them prefer to remain where life 
is made easy for them. This is often the case, even with old birds who 
know the pleasures as well as the pains of freedom. When let out, of 
course they fly, but if they do not get lost they frequently return to their 
old quarters. Many cases of this kind have been reported, and I have had 
birds so attached te the comforts of their home that they even refused to 
leave the cage though the door was open all day long, and birds were free 
all around them. 
Birds are naturally fond of their liberty, no doubt, and if I had the 
power to prevent it, not one should ever be caged, but after having inter- 
fered with their parental training, taken them from their natural life, and 
accustomed them to human care, to set them free seems to me to doom 
them to great hardships, if not to death. 
OLIVE THORNE MILLER. 
A Desirable Substitute for Carbon Disulphide as an Insecticide. 
To Tue Epirors oF ‘THE AuK’:— 
Dear Strs :—TVhe want of an efficient substitute for disulphide of carbon, 
one which should be free from the disgusting odor and extreme danger of 
this chemical, has long been felt by all having ornithological collections ; 
and it seem not unlikely that the comparatively new preparation of formic 
aldehyde, known as ‘ formalin,’ will fill this want. 
