24 



OF THEIR FOOD. 



I shall now call the young Fancier's attention to a matter which is most material 

 of all to the health of his birds, and upon which the speedy and vigorous increase 

 of their young greatly depends, I mean their food. 



If the throats of the young birds were not so small, I have no hesitation in 

 saying, that beans of the best quality, and as small as they could be obtained, would 

 be the best food that could possibly be given them ; and was it not for the difficulty' 

 the old birds have in feeding their young entirely upon beans, I would never give' 

 them any thing else. This might possibly be objected to by some, from a sup- 

 position, that beans alone would not so readily furnish a siifliciency of soft meat, 

 from their solidity, but I should think this reason would not bear them out, as it 

 is notorious that the birds of the common Fanciers are fed upon nothing else, and 

 they are always furnished with as much soft meat as those that are otherwise fed. 

 But in the breeding season, the Almond Tumbler should be supplied also with 

 good sound old tares, and to the hoppers containing these, as well as the beans, 

 they should have free access, that they may satisfy themselves as often as occasion 

 requires, which is almost incessant whilst they are feeding their young, being very 

 voracious feeders, which may be accounted for, from theirgreatheat of constitution, 

 the food being quickly digested and converted into excrement, and continually 

 passing through them ; care should be taken not to purchase such beans or fares 

 as have been at sea, and got damaged with salt water, as thty will infallibly scour 

 or purge the birds, and probably kill some of them. In order to ascertain this, 

 the Fancier ought always to put some of them into his mouth, and chew them, 

 by which means he will readily discover it, should it be so. 



In order, in some measure, to prove my argument as to the beans being the 

 best food, and preferable to any other, I shall state the observations I have made 

 upon the excrement of the birds as soon as voided. 



I have noticed the excrement of birds that have been fed upon ordinary beans, 

 and found that it was tolerably hard and good, but that it was not attended with 

 much mucus or slime, from which I infer, that the food was not sufficiently 

 nutritious to afford the proper quantum of mucus necessary for the easy discharge 

 ofthefoeces; but the foeces of birds fed upon prime hard old beans, have been 

 very different, and according to my idea have worn a much more healthy appearance 

 than the former ; the foe::es of birds so fed have been voided in a solid lump, 

 surrounded with a plentiful quanluin of fine oily, or slimy mucus, from whence 

 I think the operation of digestion is better performed by the best food, and 

 consequently that the birds must be more healthy. 



Tares, if of ever so good qualify, are very improper to feed birds upon alone, for 

 they are very laxative, and never produce a solid excrement, which in a great 

 measure tends to prove my argument as to the superiority of the first mentioned' 

 food ; for whoever has made any observation upon the ordure of birds fed upon" 

 tares aloHe, will, I tru*t, allow, that it is never solid, but generally of a pasty 

 consistence, and sometimes very thin ; I think it thence follows, that birds in thisi 

 constant state of laxation, can never be so hearty and vigorous as those fed upon 

 good old beans, which produce a solid excrement. 



From what I have above advanced, it will readily be supposed that I prefer 

 beans alone for their constant food,, when the breeding season is over ; I certainly 

 do, and with great reason, as I attribute my having been particularly foitunate 

 to the observations of the before-mentioned rules, and may venture to say, although 

 my birds are kept in the heart of this great city, enveloped in constant clouds of 

 smoke from chimnies, foundries, furnaces, &c., no Fancier's birds are more healthy, 

 and few have raised so many young ones in proportion to their stock, or lost so 

 few old ones from diseases, &c. . The only inconvenience which I can complain 

 of is, the utter impossibility of keeping the plumage of my birds so clean ani, 



