ON THE SMALL BIRDS OF FLIGHT. Sig 



in which state they continue, being perhaps ex- 

 amined but once a week to have fresh water. 

 As for food, the air is so putrid, that they eat 

 little during the whole state of confinement, 

 whida lasts about a month. The birds fre- 

 quently die under the operation ;* and hence 

 the value of a stopped bird rises greatly. 



When the bird hath tlius prematurely moult- 

 ed, he is in song, whilst the wild birds ai'e out 

 qfsottg, and his note is louder and more pierc- 

 ing than that of a wild one ; but it is not only 

 in his note he receives an alteration, the plum- 

 age is equally improved. The black and yel- 

 low in the wings of the goldfinch, for example, 

 become deeper and more vivid, together with a 

 most beautiful gloss, which is not to be seen in 

 the wild bird. The bill, which in the latter is 

 iikcAvise black at the end, in the stopped bird 

 becomes white and more tap)er, as do its legs : 

 in short, there is as much difference between a 

 wild and a stopped bird, as there is between a 

 horse which is kept in body cloaths, or at 

 grass. 



When the bird-catcher hath laid his nets, he 



* We have been lately informed by an experienced bird- 

 catcher, that he pursues a cooler regimen in stopping his birds, 

 and that he theriefore seldom loses one. 



