My Avairies and their Inmates. 289


us vety miserable to watch them slowly dying for the want of

that sunshine which is so essential to their life. All lovers of

animals will therefore understand our reasons when we say that

we shall not try again to import Huniming-Birds into England.


[We feel sure that aviculturalists in general will be very grateful to

Messrs. A. and H. Pain for the amount of trouble they have taken to

introduce living Humming-Birds, and to give us in this country an

opportunity of studying these wonderful birds. The last consignment

which arrived unfortunately came in for one of the most sunless Junes on

record. Had they been favoured with the amount of sunshine that one

expects during an English summer, and perhaps if the}' had had a somewhat

less stuffy cage, the}' might have lived longer. At any rate we do not think

the experiment can be regarded as quite a failure, and, although we quite

understand Messrs. Pam's reason for not wishing to repeat the experiment,

still we believe that under more favourable conditions Humming-Birds

could be kept in this country for some time. — Ed.]



MY AVIARIES AND THEIR INMATES.

By E. J. Brook.


When the Editor of the Avicitltural Magazine asked me to

write an account of my aviaries I felt that he had asked me to do

something disagreeable, like making a speech or listening to a

budget debate. However, I will do my best, and he can scrap

any part of this paper he does not think of interest— all of it if

he thinks right — and he may use his blue pencil to his heart's

content.


Foreign birds, especially those of the parrot kind, have

always taken my fancy, and for a number of years I have kept

one or more confined in cages. There always seemed to me to

be something wanting — some touch of life and movement — in a

bird kept confined in even the largest cage possible in a room ;

so, about two years ago, I set about building substantial aviaries

in which my birds could get a considerable amount of freedom,

and yet not so large that the inmates could not be easily and

closely watched.


My aviaries vary slightly in size, but, speaking generally,

they consist of a room 6ft. by 10ft. and about 14ft. high, aud^his— -

room opens by half doors into a flight about 6ft. by 16ft. by 10ft,



