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had been fixed against the walls originally ; the ironing-board

forms the bottom of the aviary, and is supported on two slender

rods fastened to the floor, up which mice could not creep ; at any

rate, not without some trouble. The aviaries are made of white

deal tile battens, planed, and left their natural colour ; and half-

inch mesh wire netting. The perches are of bamboo, which I

like, as it is so smooth that the dirt from the birds’ feet (and the

yery cleanest birds, beautifully kept, will sometimes have dirty

feet) does not stick to the perch. Besides straight perches, each

aviary has in it a large evergreen branch, which will be changed

when dirty. I cannot get fir branches, so have to be content

with arbor vitos, and even those were arrived at with considerable

difficulty.


Standing with one end close to the window is the small

birds’ aviary, made of the same materials as the two against the

wall, and perched and bushed in the same manner. It is about

six feet long, four-and-a-half feet wide, and nearly eight feet high,

and is made of batten and wire all round. There are six cocoa-

nut husks in it, and a very delectable log nest from Paris, most

ornamentally covered with beautiful green lichen. The birds,

however, inartistic brutes that they are, scorn this high-art

residence and much prefer the humble husk. The husks cost

sixpence, and the log nest two francs, so after all economy is con¬

sulted, if not taste! I find the birds seem to like the bamboo perches

much better than either branches and twigs, or ordinary wood

perches: probably the varying thickness of the bamboo and the

little knots in it help them to hold securely when at roost. On

the floors of these three aviaries—perhaps I should call them

large cages by rights—I use sand collected from a well rain-

washed road. This material is the only alternative to Spratfis

threepenny bags, and I found it so very expensive to have such

elegant sand for general use that I sent the gardener to get the

road sand for floors, while I put a little Spratt’s in a tin for eat¬

ing and gizzard purposes.


The fireplace of my bird-room is occupied by a coke stove,

which is very tiresome and which I do not recommend to any¬

one who can afford oil, or get gas. I found an oil-stove so

extravagant—it burnt three gallons of oil in a week, and some¬

times more—that, my bird hobby not being my only craze, and

having to divide the purse with one or two others, I was obliged

to have the cheaper coke stove. It makes dust, and requires

attention every two hours; this would not be the case if it were

larger, but too large a stove would make the room unwholesomely

warm. The great disadvantage of coke stoves is the almost im-



