30 MY FOREIGN DOVES AND PIGEONS. 
nails to fasten down the lid, and then catch your 
bird. 
Catching, without injury, is an art in itself. I 
have never been very skilled at it. The best way 
to box your bird is to grip it firmly across the 
shoulders with your left hand, holding the bird 
pressed against you. This leaves the right hand 
free to open and close the box lid. Once safely 
inside, nail down the lid, tie on your string and 
label, and the bird is ready to start. I think it is 
as well to send birds off late in the day, for if at 
liberty in the ordinary daily routine they would not 
want food in the night, and so, beyond a lack of 
sleep, they really do not suffer much. 
It is as well, though, to put the food in, for it 
might be late on the next day before the bird 
reached its destination. .\rrange beforehand by 
letter as to what day you are sending the bird, and 
confirm this with an advance post card sent off the 
day the bird has left, so as to arrive before it. It 
is a sort of unwritten Jaw that in selling a bird the 
buyer always pays the carriage, while on your part 
you, of course, make no charge for the box the 
bird is sent in, and you should mention it need not 
be returned. Of course, if you are giving away a 
bird you would pay the carriage yourself; this is 
altogether different from selling one. 
It is necessary to part with your young birds if 
you mean to keep your old ones, and one does not 
like to let the old favourites go; but it has cost 
rather an effort to me sometimes to part with even 
my young birds. However, one must be practical. 
It is important above all things not to overcrowd 
your aviary. And then there is the side to con- 
sider that the nesting birds ought to help to pay 
their own corn bill, and you will find if you keep 
a number of birds that this and other expenses 
come to a good deal in the year. 
I am afraid I keep my birds in rather a lazy 
fashion; that is to say, I neither feed nor clean 
them out myself, but have it done for me by two 
of the gardeners, George Merrills and Willie 
Shelton, who take great care of their small charges 
and are very kind to them. At first I used to do 
all myself, but as my aviaries increased the work 
got too much for me, and as they are some way 
from the house I found it trying work in the winter 
time. So now I only do the general looking after 
my birds, and such small things as grinding up 
biscuits, mixing seeds, packing birds, etc., but 
even this takes a fair amount of time. I have 
never made my aviaries pay, but, on the contrary, 
they are rather an expensive hobby, for when 
wages and food are to be considered, it does not 
leave much for buying new birds, and many a 
tempting offer I have had to refuse, for I will not 
sell my old favourites to buy new ones. 
I have told you how to send a bird away, so now 
I will just tell you how to receive one. If you 
expect a bird late at night, get it a cage all ready, 
with clean sand and seed and water in preparation. 
Do not turn out a tired bird straight away into 
your aviary just at roosting time. Everything will 
be strange to it; perhaps it may be weak and 
cramped with travelling, and your own birds, 
having each their particular roosting place, will 
probably give the strange bird a hard welcome. 
It is much better to put the newcomer into a cage 
for the night, letting it have a light just to get a 
good feed before it settles. Do not frighten it 
more than you can help; for instance, put your 
seed and water in the cage before you put in the 
bird, so that you may not alarm it by putting your 
hand in the cage after it is in. 
If it is in winter you might stand the cage near 
the fire a little, and after the bird has fed move 
it back, cover the cage with a cloth, and let it rest 
in quiet till the morning. Don’t let any children 
or dogs and cats come near the cage. The bird 
has gone through enough small nervous shocks in 
the day without adding any fresh ones. The 
railway porters here are very kind, and if a bird 
arrives out of delivery hours they will send it down 
by special messenger at a small cost, so that it is 
not kept waiting at the station till morning. When 
turning out a new bird into your aviary, watch 
it carefully the first day or two to see it is not 
molested. A bird that arrives looking sickly 
should be kept apart, as the illness might be 
infectious, and in any case it needs extra care and 
quiet. 
Never send a bird away, nor have one sent to 
you, on a Saturday or at Bank Holiday time. 
Friday night, too, is a very bad time for birds 
travelling, so it is well to choose some other day 
if possible. 
Several times I] have had importations of birds 
from abroad, and with the exception of one lot 
they travelled very well. The sender of the birds 
should ,write at least the mail before, telling you 
the name of the boat they are coming on and the 
address of the Shipping Company. You will then 
write to the latter telling them of the expected 
arrival of the birds and asking them to at once 
put them on rail (after they have been fed and 
watered), and, having done so, send you a tele- 
gram giving the time of the train’s departure. 
You will, of course, enclose the prepaid telegram 
in your letter, and also a stamped envelope asking 
the Shipping Company to reply as to whether there 
are any charges on the birds, and also to send you 
the address of the man who has had the care of 
them on the voyage. This is generally the 
butcher, and when you have got his home address 
