194



Dr. A. G. Butler,



Dr. Johnson imagined might say, ‘ I have a green meadow, and my

cows; what more can anyone need! ” or words to that effect.


And here in my aviaries are Queen Alexandra and Hooded

Golden-shouldered Parrakeets, Diamond Doves, Rose-breasted Gros¬

beaks, Blue Birds, Robin Chats (Cossypha caffra), Chestnut-breasted

Blue Rock Thrushes, Blue Budgerigars, Douglas and Cuban Quails,

Sun Bitterns, Seed Snipe, Orange-headed Ground Thrushes, Bar¬

shouldered, Green-winged, Violet-necked Doves, and others.


They can enjoy the sunshine all day, when that luminary is

enabled to pierce through the veil of clouds which but too often

obscures it, and on a chilly February day I have heard the Blue

Birds warbling and the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks tuning up; quite a

chorus, with the Bronze-winged Pigeons acting as big drums in the

orchestra !


(To be continued).



THIRTY-TWO YEARS OF AVICULTURE.


By Dr. A. G. Butler.


I have written so much respecting my personal experiences

in bird-keeping, that I feel some diffidence in taking up the pages

of our Magazine by an account of my work upon this branch of

ornithology from the time when, as an utter ignoramus, I first

attempted to keep birds in cages : however, our editor asks me to do

so, and therefore I must beg our members to forgive me if I weary

them.


Of course I began by breeding' domesticated Canaries ; but,

although I was moderately successful with them, I soon wearied of

fanciers’ sports, and (as already noted in my article on hand-rearing

British Birds) took up the study of species. I knew nothing about

their correct food beyond what I could glean from various books

respecting that eaten by the birds when at liberty, but I speedily

made the acquaintance of a few other bird-keepers about equally

well or ill informed, and we used to compare experiences of failures

and successes, which may possibly have been of some slight use.


When I began to keep birds I knew of no books which would

give me information on the subject; doubtless there were such books



