37



found about twenty drops of Parrish’s chemical food to the ounce of

water to be a valuable tonic, but many other specifics are recommended.

Gamgee’s “ Pick-em-up ” paste, sold by Maggs Bros., of Swansea, has been

very efficacious as a tonic with my birds. A little port wine in the water

is also good ; or, thirty drops of the tincture of perchloride of iron to the

ounce of water; or, a few drops of cod-liver oil twice daily.


If the disease is more than an ordinary catarrhal cold, and is not

alleviated by the simple remedies as above, it will require much more

drastic measures, and the simplest of these is to wring the bird’s neck.


I have devoted weeks of trouble in the hope of saving the lives of

valuable freshly-imported birds, but I have always in the end wished that

I had killed them in the beginning. Such experience as I have had has

taught me that if a bird be so far gone as not to be cured by very simple

treatment, such bird may be considered as dead.


- Henry J. Fueljames.


THE LATE DR. RUSS.


Sir, —As an old subscriber, of many years standing, to Dr. Russ’

magazine, Die Gefiederte Welt , and an occasional contributor, may I be

allowed to state that Dr. Russ’ only son and namesake, and assistant Editor

of Die Gefiederte Welt died on the 23rd August, 1899, at the early age of 32.

His father died on the 29th September, after a few hours illness. Probably

the son was mistaken for the nephew, to whom Dr. Butler alludes.


- C. A. Hodgson.


AUSTRALIAN BIRDS.


Sir,—I think the attention of members of the Society should be

directed to the fact that a very important Work on Australian Birds has

been prepared by Mr. Archibald Campbell, of Melbourne. The title of the

book is “ Nests and Eggs of Australian Birds, including the Geographical

Distribution of the species and popular observations thereon.”


Mr. Campbell has worked hard as a field naturalist for thirty years

and is able to say that '• the nests and eggs of nearly every species of

Australian birds have now been discovered.”


The book will be a royal 8vo., printed on roughened paper: it is

proposed to illustrate it with about 130 photographic reproductions of nests,

nesting scenes, etc., also 200 coloured figures of eggs : it is believed that it

will extend to from 7- to 800 pages of letterpress.


As a work of reference such a book will be invaluable to aviculturists,

to whom the wild life of their favourites is always of considerable

interest ; and, as it is anticipated that the cost will not exceed two

guineas, it would be well for all the members of our Society who think of

purchasing it to lose no time in obtaining order-forms (c). It would be a

lamentable thing if so important a work should fall through from lack of

adequate support. A. G. BuTEER.



QUESTION—CHINESE DWARF-THRUSH.


Sir, —Could you kindly inform me how to distinguish the sexes of

the Chinese Dwarf-Thrush ?


I have recently obtained some, but am unable to distinguish them.

Some are, apparently, young birds: on their arrival they were marked very



[c) From E. A. Petherick, Esq., of 85, Hopton Road, Streatham, S.W.



