20 CANARIES 



to in-door aviaries. An in-door aviary is generally fixed 

 up in the odd room of the house, one which either by 

 reason of its size or shape is not adapted for the use of 

 members of the household. In towns the great difficulty 

 in fitting up such a room is the trouble from mice. This 

 means fixing tin all round the wainscot, and the fire place, 

 should there be one in the room. A room such as this 

 should have a frame of fine meshed wire netting to fix 

 over the window when it is open, which should be practi- 

 cally always and another to fix over the doorway, so 

 that in the summer months the room may be kept cool, 

 further, that the song of the birds may delight the ears 

 of the owner when he or she is engaged about the house. 



For safety's sake it is advisable with an in-door aviary 

 to have a small lobby fixed with an inner door, so as to 

 prevent the escape of any of the inmates when the owner 

 enters the room. 



Some lovers of birds use the small cages in which the 

 German songsters are imported into this country as 

 breeding places. They cut out the door portion and 

 place a nest pan in the cage, and then hang the cage on the 

 wall. Personally, I prefer to fix a small platform to the 

 wall and then fix the nest pan to the bracket in such a 

 way that it may be easily removed for cleaning. These 

 small cages are not easy to clean, therefore I do not favour 

 their use. 



Breeding in Cages. 



When one is breeding high-class exhibition canaries, 

 it is quite impossible to breed them on the aviary system, 

 and they should be bred in pairs and in single cages. 

 There are quite a number of breeders who use double- 

 breeding cages, and run each cock with two hens. Myself, 

 I do not favour this system. One gets much finer "birds 

 when polygamy is not practised. However, I shall 

 describe the different kind of cages used, and my readers 

 may then use that type which suits their circumstances 

 the best, but personally I recommend single breeding cages, 

 and if one visits the rooms of our leading breeders, it will 

 generally be found that the majority use such, even 

 those who run two hens to one cock. The single breeder 

 has many advantages over the double or treble, or quartet 

 breeding cages. It is easier dealt with when cleaning is 



