CHAPTER II 



AVIARIES, CAGES, AND FITTINGS 



It is only when one comes to get down to the practical 

 details of canary breeding that one realises what has been 

 done during the last forty years. When I commenced 

 canary-keeping the majority of fanciers made their 

 own cages or had them made by local friends who had 

 knowledge of the art. To-day few men make their 

 cages, because there is scarcely a town in the kingdom in 

 which they are not easily obtained, even the speciahsed 

 show cages. 



Fifty Years Ago. 



Fifty years ago what was known as the London Breeding 

 Cage was the cage most generally used. It was a box 

 cage with a platform arrangement at one end which was 

 divided off from the cage proper, and the wooden nest 

 boxes of those days stood on the platform. It is years now 

 since I saw one of these abominations. 



In these days when cages of all descriptions may be 

 so easily and cheaply obtained it is not necessary in a 

 work of this description to give instruction in the art of 

 cage-making, because not one breeder in a thousand 

 ever thinks of making cages. 



Aviary Breeding 



By the hobbyist, or canary-breeder, who has no desire 

 to shine upon the show bench, the delights of our hobby 

 may be enjoyed to the highest degree by indulgence 

 in aviary breeding, either outdoor or indoor. 



In the North the former is hardly possible, although 

 I have seen canaries kept in an outdoor aviary in York- 

 shire, but in the South and West of England, in Ireland 



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