20 Canaries and Cage-Birds. 



at the top, and notched round the bottom with a few deep scallops affording ingress for a supply 

 of air. Stand this machine on end, like an inverted overgrown saucepan, on a plate of iron or 

 even on the bare floor in any convenient corner of the room, and underneath it place the lamp, 

 or convey through one of the apertures an ordinary bat's-wing gas-burner. In the side, an inch 

 or two from the top, insert a pipe of the same material or of zinc or tin, which, in carrying off the 

 heated air and the deleterious products of combustion, plays a most important part in the heating 

 economy of this most unpretentious-looking affair. 



The only condition absolutely necessary for the effective working of the stove is that the 

 chimney be conveyed into some vacant space entirely free from draught, as any downward puff 

 will extinguish the flame. In the case of a lamp, this will be accompanied by no other incon- 

 venience than the failure of the heat ; but if with gas, consequences will be more serious. The 

 possibility of such a mishap can easily be averted, and the whole thing be made to work without 

 a hitch of any kind. It may require a little trouble and a little contrivance at first to arrange the 

 chimney so that notJdng affects it ; but the after-results are so satisfactory that to ensure them no 

 trouble can be considered as such. It must not be merely half done, for although the chimney may 

 be so placed that the nearest approach to extinguishing the flame is an occasional downward puff 

 which disturbs it momentarily, yet this puff forces out into the room a portion of foul air which 

 ought to travel another road and which becomes objectionable. When freedom from annoyance 

 of this kind has once been secured, not the slightest apprehension need be felt on the score of 

 injurious effects upon the birds. We say this advisedly, and as the result of years of experience 

 and years of observation in the breeding-rooms of others where this little machine is considered 

 a great boon; for in this, as in other vital questions, we wish it to be understood that the 

 expression of our opinion is based as far as possible on our own experience, and as little as 

 possible on hearsay, however reliable. 



The entire cost of our own stove, with several feet of chimney and short lead from nearest 

 • gas-pipe, burner, and fixing, was considerably under a sovereign. This was ten years ago, and 

 it is doing duty yet. We repeat, because it is important and the key to success, that the one 

 condition necessary is positive immunity from down-draughts. We first set it up in an attic, 

 carrying the chimney across the room horizontally, and then at right angles through the ceiling 

 into the roof; but we found that during some winds this arrangement entailed on us the 

 necessity of creeping up-stairs at all hours of the night, in a costume more light and airy 

 than was consistent with comfort, to peep through the keyhole in order to ascertain if all 

 was going on right. But our roof was none of the best, and the east winds making a practice 

 of getting in to play practical jokes with our chimney, our constant visits threatened to land 

 us in a state of chronic rheumatism. A smoky chimney and another domestic calamity we 

 won't mention are proverbial ; and though the one helped to produce the other, we ultimately 

 came off master of the situation by inserting the end of the chimney in an inverted box. The 

 wind couldn't get in, but the hot air managed to get out, and we slept undisturbed. 



The length of the chimne)^ is immaterial, but the longer the pipe the greater will be the 

 surface from which the heat is distributed. It will be a matter of astonishment to observe 

 how much heat can be generated by a very small flame : it will seldom be found necessary to 

 turn on the full power even during the day, when the pressure on the mains in large towns is 

 always reduced and the supply is proportionately feeble. It is well to place a basin of water 

 on the top to counteract by evaporation any dryness in the air. 



Such is our idea of the things to be borne in mind in selecting a good breeding-room, and we 

 have but one more precautionary measure to refer to, and that is with reference to the exclusion of 



