PART VIII. 
CAGE BIRDS AND THEIR DISEASES. 
INTRODUCTION. 
HE cares and conflicting passions of life are most. 
agreeably relieved by the varied tints of the flowers. 
-' which clothe field and garden, and by the birds. 
which flit among them, to please with their ex- 
quisite symmetry, delight with their rich and gor- 
geous plumage, and charm with their entrancing 
MF = song. These “beautiful and well-created things” 
stimulate and purify the love of beauty which is such an essential element 
of every normal mind and soul, and a genuine delight must ever be felt in 
a study of their form, plumage, song and habits. In my native land socie- | 
ties are formed expressly for such study, it being my esteemed privilege to. 
have a membership in the one at our capital, and to. continue its correspond- 
ent in the fair country of my adoption. In such favorable circumstances 
many things have been learned which could not otherwise have come with- 
in my knowledge. While the life of birds in their natural freedom has. 
been a special theme of investigation, we have been led to give studious. 
attention to their needs and care when in captivity, for, in spite of the ten- 
derest care, influences which are inseparable from a life of confinement will 
always induce some diseases not known among birds in their native fields. 
and forests. As a result of such observation these disorders are treated di- 
rectly from experience in Germany, usually without the necessity of books; 
411 
Digitized by Microsoft® 
