MY FOREIGN DOVES AND PIGEONS. 



floor was cemented and tiled over, and, to keep the 

 place dryer, a glass pointed roof was substituted 

 for the wire netting one. This made the aviary 

 look much nicer; of course the glass roof had to 

 be lined (a few inches from the glass) with a kind 

 of very strong muslin, known at the drapers as 

 "strainering. " This was a precaution to prevent 

 the doves dashing against the glass if they flew 

 upwards. 



No. 2 aviary was built a little later than the first 

 one. It has no flight, but is just a house built 

 against a high brick wall and facing due south. 

 It is lower down the garden and stands in a sunny 







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Wire Front 





N° I /^viRRV Ground Plan 



old-fashioned orchard, and the outer part of the 

 aviary front, that is not wire, is covered with 

 climbing roses and ivy. 



This aviary is composed of two thicknesses of 

 wood with felt between, and the span roof is of 

 corrugated iron lined with wood. The whole of 

 the inside is varnished, except the brick wall that 

 forms the back, which is white-washed. Tine 

 dimensions are i6 ft. long by gh ft. wide and 135 

 ft. high at the highest point in the roof. The front 

 of the aviary is ViJired to within 2 ft. of the ground, 

 and along the whole length ten glass-panelled 



moveable shutters are fastened by means of bars 

 and screws. In summer weather the shutters are 

 removed altogether, but in very cold weather they 

 are all kept up (forming a large window 16 ft. long 

 by 5J ft. high). These shutters can be fixed or 

 removed in a few minutes, and are all independent 

 of each other, so that one or more can be taken 

 down without interfering with the rest. 



The inside is divided by a wire partition (boarded 

 up a short distance from the floor) into two parts, 

 one being rather larger than the other. In the 

 end of each is a wire-covered opening window, 

 and in the roof of each a glass skylight, also made 

 to open and covered with wire. The skylights are 

 regulated with cords and pulleys, and are left open 

 slightly at night all through the year. Each of 

 the two portions of the aviary is entered at each 

 end by a porch and double doors, so that there is 

 no fear of the birds escaping on anyone going 

 inside. I consider a double door is a necessity to 

 every aviary, for without it accidents are bound to 

 happen. A shelf, for seed tins, etc., is in each 

 porch, over the door, and this is handy, as it forms 

 a little store place for food without having to keep 

 it away from the aviary. In the centre of each 

 floor is a small cement basin with continual 

 running water, which can be turned up or down 

 at will. 



This aviary is heated with hot water pipes. The 

 feed-tank (with a cover on) is at one end of the 

 pipes, and now and then wants replenishing with 

 water. There is an escape pipe from it in case 

 the water should boil over. This pipe is fixed in 

 the tank and through the aviary end, so that the 

 water can never rise above a certain height, the 

 escape pipe drawing off all the overflow into a 

 cement gutter that runs round three sides of the 

 aviary. This gutter has two grates and a pipe 

 leading into a dumb well, and the overflow from 

 the fountain (in the centre of each half of the 

 aviary) runs into the dumb well also. 



A dumb well is simply a deep hole dug into the 

 ground, the earth being cleared out and its place 

 filled with half-bricks and rubble, put in anyhow, 

 so that there are spaces left amongst them for the 

 water to run through and to drain away. Of 

 course, the level of your rubble must be below the 

 level of the waste pipe flowing into it. 



It is a good plan to cover the top of your dumb 

 well with a large flag-stone just a few inches 

 below the ground, then put earth or grass on the 

 top of this so as to make it look like its surround- 

 ings. The flag-stone has several advantages. In 

 the first place it keeps the ground from sinking in 

 over the well, then, again, it prevents dirt silting 

 into the well, and helping to choke it, and also 

 should anything ever happen to interfere with the 



