8 FAEMERS' BULLETIN '770. 



far as shape is concerned, the square cage is best, as it affords more 

 room for exercise than one with rounded corners. 



For a single bird, the cage should be at least 9^- inches long, 6^ 

 inches wide, and 9 inches high. A larger size is much better. The 

 ordinary cages secured from dealers in this country are made of 

 wire and are open on all sides. Each is fitted with receptacles for 

 food and water, usually at opposite ends. A fine-mesh wire screen 

 may be secured from the dealer and fastened around the lower half 

 of the cage to prevent the scattering of seeds and seed hulls. A com- 

 mon substitute for this is a simple muslin bag, held in place by a 

 drawstring fastening tightly about the middle of the cage. In a 

 cage of ordinary size three perches are sufficient. One should be 

 placed at either end at a distance that will allow easy access to the 

 food and water receptacles, and the third elevated above the middle 

 of the cage at its center. A bird confined in small quarters is 

 dependent for exercise on hopping about from perch to perch, and 

 this arrangement will give the maximum freedom of movement. In 

 larger cages four perches may be advisable. These should not be 

 placed so that they interfere with the free movement of the bird, 

 and for reasons of cleanliness one perch should not be directly above 

 another. In small wire cages, if the swing perch usually found sus- 

 pended in the center is removed, the bird will have more room, and in 

 hopping back and forth will not be continually striking head or 

 wings. In larger cages this perch may remain. Perches should be 

 large enough for the toes of the bird to grasp them readily and 

 encircle them for three- fourths of their circumference. If they are 

 too small they cramp the foot and cause trouble. They should be 

 elliptical in shape, with the flattened portion above. If perches fur- 

 nished with the cage do not meet these requirements, others may be 

 made from soft w^ood without much trouble. 



Cages in which canaries are to breed must be large and roomy in 

 comparison with those intended for single occupants. An English 

 authority gives the standard size for breeding cages as 22 inches 

 long, 12 inches wide, and 16 inches high. Several types of open 

 breeding cages made of wire may be obtained, or a box with a wire 

 front may be made. The latter is recommended by breeders who 

 rear large numbers of canaries, as it is both convenient and inex- 

 pensive and protects the birds from drafts. Where large numbers 

 of canaries are kept these box cages are placed in racks one above 

 another or arranged on a series of shelves along the wall of the bird 

 room. They are provided with a sand tray three-fourths of an inch 

 deep, that slides in and out from the front and facilitates clean- 

 ing. Perches may be adjusted in the following manner: One end is 

 notched and the other has a brad driven in it filed to a sharp point. 

 The sharpened brad is pressed against the back of the cage and a 



