286 Canaries and Cage-Birds. 



as these are observed, time should be taken by the forelock ; for they cannot continue for any 

 length of time without inducing great weakness, and a loss of flesh amounting at times to 

 emaciation ; when usually some secondary ailment, such as acute diarrhoea, supervenes and ends 

 the life of the bird. 



The treatment resolves itself into the constitutional, and that directed to the relief of the 

 symptoms. The food should be changed, and in addition to the ordinary seeds something more 

 nourishing should be given, such as the yolk of a hard-boiled &%%, nicely grated and mixed with 

 powdered luncheon biscuit. The bird should likewise be kept in a warm room — a room, however, 

 that is daily and thoroughly ventilated ; the cage may be partially covered up, especially that 

 portion of it which is opposite to where any draughts might come from. A small dose of warm 

 castor oil — say two drops, or three at most — will do good at the commencement. The water, which 

 must be fresh every day, should have a morsel of gum-arabic dissolved in it, and a little glycerine 

 as well. White bread, a day old, first soaked in cold water, then mixed with warm new milk, 

 should also be given as a change of diet, never forgetting that it is apt to turn sour and derange 

 the digestion ; it should, therefore, be freshly made morning and evening. 



Should this simple treatment not have the desired effect, stronger remedies must be had 

 recourse to. The drinking-water may be turned into a kind of cough mixture, by adding thereto a 

 little paregoric (twenty drops), or five drops of solution of muriate of morphia, a tea-spoonful of 

 glycerine, and a morsel of gum-arabic. The bowels, if not opened sufficiently by the glycerine, 

 should be kept moderately open, by the addition to the water of about as much carbonate of 

 magnesia as will lie on a fourpenny-bit. In phthisis there is often an irritable or quickened 

 action of the heart, which may be controlled by the use of tincture of digitalis, not more than ten 

 minims in the water daily. A drop or two of cod-liver oil twice a day also does much good. 

 Tonics, too, will be beneficial, and of these iron in some form will be found as good as any. A 

 rusty nail, or twenty-five drops of the tincture of the perchloride of iron, may be put in the water 

 daily. If diarrhoea sets in we fear there is little chance of saving the bird ; the glycerine would 

 in this case have to be stopped, and the ailment treated by astringents, as laid down under the 

 heading of that disease. 



We recommend ordinary catarrh colds and coughs to be treated as if they really were, as they 

 often are, symptomatic of the first stage of consumption. 



Asthma is another chest-complaint that Canaries are subject to ; and as it may arise from a 

 variety of causes, its treatment is often very unsatisfactory, and in its chronic form it may be said 

 to be incurable. There is a hereditary tendency to this disease in many of our birds, but it is also 

 the result oftentimes of exposure to cold or draughts. Improper feeding will likewise produce it, 

 as well as over-feeding. It is also sometimes associated with a deranged state of the bowels, or 

 indigestion. There is little difficulty in diagnosing this troublesome complaint; the periodic nature 

 of the attacks, the difficulty of breathing, the wheezing and distress of the little patient are 

 symptoms that are, alas ! but too familiar to many of us. 



Great care should be taken of birds liable to attacks of asthma. They should be kept in a 

 warm atmosphere, and free from draughts and damp, and the food should be nutritious and easy of 

 digestion, such as arrowroot biscuits and eggs, grated as recommended for consumption. The diet, 

 too, should be frequently changed, but hemp-seed ought to be avoided — it is too stimulating in its 

 nature. A due allowance of fresh green food should be given, and it must be changed every day, 

 for anything that produces irritation of the digestive canal, is very likely to induce an attack of this 

 disorder. Our whole aim and object, if we would cure asthma or prevent its return, is to improve 

 the general health of the bird. With this end in view, the bowels should be regulated by the 



