172 TREATISE ON 



canary cock-bird with a meally hen, as the young 

 are often highly and curiously spangled. From such 

 a union many beautiful varieties have sprung. 



The most common cause of disease in birds is 

 a superabundance of food : When they breed in a 

 cage, they often eat to excess, or take the succulent 

 food intended for the nestlings. — This brings on 

 either repletion or inflammation. Overfeeding is 

 likewise often fatal to the young, and goes by the 

 technical name of a surfeit : in this case the in- 

 testines descend to the extremity of the body, and 

 are seen through the skin, while the feathers on 

 the part affected fall off, and the poor bird, after 

 sitting a few days by its untasted food, pines and 

 dies. — Medicine is vain if the disease is far gone ; 

 but, by putting the sick birds in a separate cage, 

 and letting them have nothing but water and let- 

 tuce-seed, this cooling diet sometimes saves a few 

 out of many. The greatest care, therefore, is ne- 

 cessary to prevent too high feeding. The best food 

 for birds brought up from the nest, by the stick, 

 is boiled rapeseed and a little groundsel. 



