44 



stand to tretieive it, (they are both made at the same time at the pottery,) which 

 has holes all around it for the birds to put their heads in to drink out of; it is 

 a clever ^ntrivance, for when I give them fresh water, turning the carboy 

 upwards, the stand receives it ; it is easily filled, and prevents the making a mess 

 on the floor. It appears to me that the makers of these drinking utensils have 

 left off making these things, as I cannot possibly obtain one, any more than I 

 can loam pots. Some Fanciers use a stone bottle and making a hole the height , 

 they wish their birds to drink from, say one inch and a half from the dish in 

 which you place this bottle. You must make it air tight at top, by placing a bung 

 in, and sealing wax it over ; but it is apt to make a mess on the flooring by filling 

 it. You can get a stand made of hoop iron, with three or five legs to come into 

 the dish from which the birds drink, and should the legs not be sufficient to 

 prevent the birds from dirtying the water, which is very important, have a few 

 wires a£Sxed to the stand and make the birds drink through them. Carboys, which 

 can be obtained of the chemist, the size according to the number of birds you keep, ^ 

 and having a stand judiciously made is a very good thing, otherwise a three-legged 

 stool ; but whatever you use, keep the water clean and sweet. These are the most 

 simple, and at the same time the best way I have discovered in feeding and 

 watering my birds, besides their partaking of their food'and water clean. I have 

 an opening in my partition for the carboy to be placed in the centre, that the birds 

 on either side of the aviary may drink out of the same utensil. 



I have observed the great difference in the feather of two birds, the one fed 

 upon beans and the other upon tares ; the plumage of the bird feeding upon beans 

 would be rich, bright, and shining — while the other, feeding upon tares, on the 

 contrary, would appear dull, cold, and without any gloss on the feather ; the 

 inference I draw is, that beans are to the plumage of the Almond Tumbler, what 

 nitre is to the horse's coat. 



It is admitted by all Fanciers that spring water is best for their drink, while 

 soft water is better for them to wash in. I was desirous, if possible, to put some- 

 thing into the water to make it more stringent and bracing, without injuring the 

 birds, I consulted my old friend the chemist, if he would inform me how I could 

 carry my plan into effect, I shall never forget how emphatically he answered me, 

 (looking round the premises at the same time), by saying there was nothing in his 

 warehouses that would so effectually answer the end, as putting into the water a 

 handful of rusty old screws; this 1 have adopted with great advantage, with the 

 addition of a few lumps of chalk. Some put a handful of green rue into their 

 water, this may be very well, but if you let it remain too long it will become 

 stinking and furr the fountains, or whatever utensil they drink out of. Especial j 

 attention must be paid to keep the water sweet and clean, in the first instance to 

 have the utensil from which your birds drink, scalded and kept thoroughly clean ; 

 do not let them have more water than will last them one day, and let it be so 

 constructed that the birds cannot by any possibility get into it to wash (which they 

 certainly will do if not prevented) and make it dirty. There cannot be a doubt 

 but that some of the diseases which unfortunately take place in the Almond 

 Tumblers of some Fanciers, arise entirely from a want of cleanliness on the part 

 of the owner of these birds, the putrid state of the water produces the canker in 

 the old birds, by the slime adhering to their beaks. 



I object, for fear of adding to this fatal disease, (however clean their aviary or 

 loft may be scraped and swept up), of making a constant practice of feeding the 

 Almond Tumbler by hand, as it is called, of throwing the food on the floor, only 

 letting the birds have as much food as they will pick up at a time. The argument 

 in its favor is, as some assert, that it keeps the bird sharper, and that it will eat 

 with greater avidity ; even if this was true I should object to it, for however clean 

 the floor of the aviary or loft might be, when you begin to feed them by hand, some 

 of the birds would dung at the time of feeding, and the beans and tares mixing 

 with the dung might cause or accelerate the canker or other diseases. I am fuliy 



