3° 



MY FOREIGN DOVES AND PIGEONS, 



nails to fasten down the lid, and then catch your 

 bird. 



Catching, without injury, is an art in itself. I 

 have never been verj' skilled at it. The best way 

 to box your bird is to grip it firmly across the- 

 shoulders with your left hand, holding the bird 

 pressed against you. This leaves the right hand 

 free to open and close the box lid. Once saiely 

 inside, nail down the lid, tie on your string and 

 label, and the bird is ready to start. I think it is 

 as well to send birds off late in the day, for if at 

 liberty in the ordinary daily routine they would not 

 want food in the night, and so, beyond a lack of 

 sleep, they really do not suffer much. 



It is as well, though, to put the food in, for it 

 might be late on the next day before the bird 

 reached its destination. Arrange beforehand by 

 letter as to what day you are sending the bird, and 

 confirm this with an advance post card sent off the 

 day the bird has left, so as to arrive before it. It 

 is a sort of unwritten lavi' that in selling a bird the 

 buyer always pays the carriage, while on your part 

 you, of course, make no charge for the box the 

 bird is sent in, and you should mention it need not 

 be returned. Of course, if you are giving away a 

 bird you would pay the carriage yourself ; this is 

 altogether different from selling one. 



It is necessary to part with your young birds if 

 you mean to keep your old ones, and one does not 

 like to let the old favourites go ; but it has cost 

 rather an effort to me sometimes to part with even 

 my young birds. However, one must be practical. 

 It is important above all things not to overcrowd 

 . your aviary. And then there is the side to con- 

 sider that the nesting birds ought to help to pay 

 their own corn bill, and you will find if you keep 

 a number of birds that this and other expenses 

 come to a good deal in the year. 



I am afraid I keep my birds in rather a lazy 

 fashion ; that is to say, I neither feed nor clean 

 them out myself, but have it done for me by two 

 of the gardeners, George Merrills and Willie 

 Shelton, who take great care of their small charges 

 and are very kind to them. At first I used to do 

 all myself, but as my aviaries increased the work 

 got too much for me, and as they are some way 

 from the house I found it trying work in the winter 

 time. So now I only do the general looking after 

 my birds, and such small things as grinding up 

 biscuits, mixing seeds, packing birds, etc., but 

 even this takes a fair amount of time. I have 

 never made my aviaries pay, but, on the contrary, 

 they are rather an expensive hobby, for when 

 wages and food are to be considered, it does not 

 leave much for buying new birds, and many a 

 tempting offer I have had to refuse, for I will not 

 sell my old favourites to buy new ones. 



I have told you how to send a bird away, so now 

 I will just tell you how to receive one. If you 

 expect a bird late at night, get it a cage all ready, 

 with clean sand and seed and water in preparation. 

 Do not turn out a tired bird straight away into 

 your aviary just at roosting time. Everything will 

 be strange to it ; perhaps it may be weak and 

 cramped with travelling, and )'Our own birds, 

 having each their particular roosting place, will 

 probably give the strange bird a hard welcome. 

 It is much better to put the newcomer into a cage 

 for the night, letting it have a light just to get a 

 good feed before it settles. Do not frighten it 

 more than you can help ; for instance, put your 

 seed and water in the cage before 3'ou put in the 

 bird, so that you may not alarm it by putting your 

 hand in the cage after it is in. 



If it is in winter you might stand the cage near 

 the fire a little, and after the bird has fed move 

 it back, cover the cage with a cloth, and let it rest 

 in quiet till the morning. Don't let any children 

 or dogs and cats come near the cage. The bird 

 has gone through enough. small nervous shocks in 

 the day without adding any fresh ones. The 

 railway porters here are ver)' kind, and if a bird 

 arrives out of delivery hours they will send it down 

 by special messenger at a small cost, so that it is 

 not kept waiting at the station till morning. When 

 turning out a new bird into your aviary, watch 

 it carefully the first day or two to see it is not 

 molested. A bird that arrives looking sickly 

 should be kept apart, as the illness might be 

 infectious, and in any case it needs extra care and 

 quiet. 



Never send a bird away, nor have one sent to 

 you, on a Saturday or at Bank Holiday time. 

 Friday night, too, is a very bad time for birds 

 travelling, so it is well to choose some other day 

 if possible. 



Several times I have had importations of birds 

 from abroad, and with the exception of one lot 

 they travelled verv well. The sender of the birds 

 should write at least the mail before, telling you 

 the name of the boat they are coming on and the 

 address of the Shipping Company. You will then 

 write to the latter telling them of the expected 

 arrival of the birds and asking them to at once 

 put them on rail (after they have been fed and 

 watered), and, having done so, send you a tele- 

 gram giving the time of the train's departure. 

 You will, of course, enclose the prepaid telegram 

 in your letter, and also a stamped envelope asking 

 the Shipping Company to reply as to whether there 

 are any charges on the birds, and also to send you 

 the address of the man who has had the care of 

 them on the voyage. This is generally the 

 butcher, and when you have got his home address 



