14b


feeble to climb. At last it succumbed to lung disease at the age

of about three months. The mother’s desire to nest increased

to a perfect mania ; batch after batch of eggs was laid, which

came to nothing, and the extraordinary thing was, that when I

removed clear ones she immediately replaced them by laying

more. On one occasion, when she had seven and could not

cover them, I took two out ; this was in the morning, and in the

afternoon of the next day she had laid two more. She sat and

laid continuously from July till March, by which time she had

laid nearly forty eggs. Naturally she seemed exhausted ; but

nothing seemed to stop this production of eggs but the entire

removal of the cocoanut.


I hope I have related enough of the doings of this little

pair to encourage other aviculturists to try their race. They

cost 8/6, and when once shown at a County Exhibition, paid for

themselves by winning a first prize of 10/6.



AVICULTURE A HUNDRED YEARS AGO.


By C. S. Simpson.


The literature of aviculture is but scant}’’, and the pursuit,

fascinating though it is, can hardly be said to have a history.

A book in my possession, published in 1806, is entitled, “The

Naturalist’s Cabinet, containing interesting sketches of animal

history, illustrative of the natures, dispositions, manners, and

habits of all the most remarkable quadrupeds, birds, fishes,

amphibia, reptiles, etc., in the known world ”: it is in six

volumes, two of which are devoted to birds. It is possible

that a few extracts which throw some little light on aviculture

as practised a hundred years ago may be of interest to readers of

the Avicultural Magazine.


A very large number of species are described, and with

considerable fullness and accuracy. I think, therefore, we may

fairly assume that those which are omitted were unknown, or at

any rate, but little known at that time in England. As may be

supposed from the comparatively scanty and infrequent inter¬

communication of those days few species of foreign birds were

kept as pets.


The Parrots known to our author (I forgot to mention

that the book is by the Rev. Thomas Smith) appear to be four

only in number. These are the “ Ash-coloured Parrot ” (of

course our old friend Polly Gre} r ), the “ Ethiopian or Guinea



