2 INTRODUCTION. 



in country pleasures, that he tries to bring some 

 of them even to his room. Plants and birds are 

 sought after with avidity, and cherished with de- 

 light. With flowers, he endeavours to make his 

 apartments resemble a garden; — and thinks of 

 groves and fields, as he listens to the wild, sweet 

 melody of his little captives. Those who keep and 

 take an interest in song-birds, are often at a loss 

 how to treat their little warblers during illness, or 

 to prepare the proper food best suited to their va- 

 rious constitutions. But this knowledge is abso- 

 lutely necessary to preserve these little creatures 

 in health : For want of it, young amateurs and 

 bird-fanciers have often seen, with regret, many of 

 their favourite birds perish. 



Several detached little ^vorks on this subject 

 have already been given to the public: but these 

 contain little more than rules for rearing and ma- 

 naging a species, as the Nightingale or Canary, 

 or, at most, a genus, with slight remarks on other' 

 song-birds. It therefore appeared to the publisher 

 of the present volume, that a more comprehensive 

 work on the subject was much wanted. For these 

 reasons the present Treatise was undertaken, and 

 we trust it will be found to contain mucli useful 

 information on the subject of song-birds. 



