20 



they will be less liable to mistake each other's home ; and so he must proceed, 

 till the whole are well acquainted with their respective abodes. Great care should 

 be taken to prevent a cock getting master of two penns, for if once he gets a Imbit 

 of going into another bird's penn, be assured he will never rest till "he has driven 

 that cock and hen from their house, and spoilt their eggs or killed their young 

 ones. When this is become very troublesome, the only remedy is, to put him and 

 and his hen into another room, for it is almost impossible to break him of this 

 trick, if once he gets master. Thus the advantage of dividing the loft is clearly 

 shewn, for without this convenience, lie must be under the necessity of keeping 

 that pair of birds constantly penned up, which would be very prejudicial to their 

 health, and fill them with vermin. During this period, the yoimg Fancier must 

 bestow a little time in watching them, and putting them a few times into their own 

 penns, if they are at a loss to find them. By attending to these rules, the birds 

 will soon become steady and settled. Particular care should also be taken always 

 to give the cock the same habitation he had last year, if not, he will get master of 

 two penns, and occasion the difficulty just mentioned. The same care is not 

 necessary with regard to the hens, they will always follow their cocks, when 

 thoroughly matched. 



OF THE NEST PANS. 



Every pair of birds should be provided with a nest pan, which should be put on 

 the shelf in the penn, and the birds made to go to nest there, as pointed out in my 

 observations upon making the penns. These pans should be about eight inches in 

 diameter at the top, and between three or four inches in depth; they should not 

 be perpendicular, but slope inwards from the top to the base, and should be rough 

 on the inside, for the better retention of the straw. These can be made at any 

 pottery, upon giving a model, or proper instructions how they are to be made. 

 Some Fanciers have used little nests, in the shape of a pan, made with straw bands 

 after the fashion of a bee-hive ; these are very objectionable, on account of the 

 harbour they aSbrd for vermin, and from which it would be impossible ever to 

 clear them. 



MARKS, 



BY WUICa TO ASCERTAIN THE COLOURS OF YOUNO BIRDS IN THE NEST. 



If the beak has no mark on it, but is quite white, the bird will be an Almond. 



If the beak is white, and has a little patch of black somewhere about it, this 

 will probably be a Splash ; but, should it be an Almond, it will most likely have 

 a great deal of black about it. 



If the beak be crossed on the point with a black stripe, or cross, rather inclining 

 to blue, this bird will be a black, and not a Kite. 



If with a deep blue mark, it will be a blue; which colour is very objectionable; 

 and, if the pair should throw this colour more than once, they should be parted, 

 and were they mine, I should part them the first time. 



If with a black mark, rather inclining to, or having a faint tinge of red, it wiU 

 be a Kite, and most likely a rich one. 



If with a slatey-coloured mark, it will be a Dun. 



If with 8 straw-colour, a Yellow. 



If with a deeper straw-colour, inclining to red, an Agate. And, 



If with a deep red, it will be a Red, or Iled-mottled bird. 



By minute attention to these marks, the Fancier will seldom fail in his prediction 

 of the colour, long before any signs of feathers are visible. 



With respect to such young birds turning out good or bad, that cannot be 

 vcduced to so great a certainty, as they alter so much in the nest, that a person 



