PACKING AND SENDING AWAY NURSING. 31 
you will send him a 
gratuity, the sum depend- 
ing on how many birds 
he has had charge of, 
their condition on arrival, 
and the length of the 
voyage. 
I have always had the 
birds sent to me in large 
heavy crates, the front of 
wire netting with muslin 
underneath; and so I 
arrange for a light dray to 
meet them at the station, and walk them slowly 
down to the house to avoid undue shaking. In 
shipping birds an ample supply of food to last them 
on the voyage should always be sent with them. 
I once heard of a case where numbers of little 
Gouldian Finches died on board ship, really from 
starvation, because too little seed had been sent 
with them. 
Some dealers pack their birds very cruelly. [ 
once had nine little birds sent from a distance 
without a drop of water in the cage—five were 
quite dead. Another time some tiny Fire Finches 
were sent in a shallow box far too large, and with 
PASSERINE Dove. 
Photo Mr. H, Willfo-d. 
VIOLET DOVES. 
no perch at all—either one or two were dead. It 
makes one’s heart ache to think how the poor little 
mites must have been bruised and shalen on the 
way, with no foot-hold in the box, and handled by 
porters who possibly were too hurried to always 
heed to keep the box steady. I would go so far as 
to say, don’t deal with any dealer (who should 
know how to pack birds properly) who sends his 
birds out like this. If he neglects them in leaving 
him, he probably neglects them whilst with him, 
and I could not rely on such a man sending me 
good birds. 
A few tools, such as a saw, hammer, screw- 
driver, pincers and plyers (in one), a pricker, and 
a box of mixed nails should be always kept down 
in the aviary. You will often need them, and soon 
learn to use them. I always fit up my own travel- 
ling boxes, and can now manage to saw a piece of 
wood straight, or to hammer in a nail without 
knocking my fingers. 
And now I come to my last notes, namely, how 
to treat a bird in sickness. 
As well as your tool chest, keep a stock of simple 
remedies in the aviary. (This is where the little 
seed-room shelves come in so useful.) Glycerine 
for colds, a bottle of Branalcane for roup, 
vaseline for wounds (which should be bathed 
first with water if possible), olive oil for 
egg-binding, and a little bottle of brandy—a tea- 
spoonful will do, just to have it handy in cases of 
collapse, where loss of time means loss of life—a 
little clean rag and cotton wool, and a bottle of 
“New Skin” (a kind of liquid court plaister), and 
Syrup of Phosphate of Iron for a tonic for delicate 
birds; one or two soft camel’s-hair paint-brushes, 
some quill toothpicks, a strong pair of nail 
scissors, a flat hot water bottle, some small pieces 
of flannel, and, last but not least, a hospital box 
to put sick birds in. 
The latter is my own idea. For long I had been 
dissatisfied with a cage for sick birds. With so 
large a bird as a dove the door of an ordinary- 
sized cage seemed far too small to pass the bird 
in and out of, and the fright of catching it over 
and over again did more harm than the remedies 
did good. You cannot have a sick bird loose in an 
aviary when you want to catch it several times a 
day, and, besides, the other occupants might 
molest it. 
So I bought a clean, empty box, to be kept just 
for invalid birds. It is about 20 inches x 14 
inches and 12 inches high. Be sure the wood is 
smooth inside and that there are no strong 
splinters. If you wish to be perfectly safe, tack a 
strong paper lining inside, but I do not think it 
is really necessary. Fix a broom handle perch 
across the box an inch or so from the bottom. Do 
not sprinkle sand on the floor, it might get into 
the bird’s eyes or into any wound, but fold some 
pieces of brown paper just the size of the bottom of 
the box, and put a fresh one in every day, sliding 
it under the perch. A piece of wire cage fronting, 
rather larger than the top of the box, forms the 
lid, and simply rests on the top—it is not fastened 
down in any way. I think perhaps a wooden 
frame covered tightly with strong string netting 
of a small mesh would make a better cover than 
the wire one, as there would then be no fear of a 
bird knocking its head if it jumped upwards. 1 
will tell you later on how I use this box, but will 
now go back to the uses of my simple remedies. 
For a Slight Cold.—A few drops of glycerine in 
the water fresh daily. Afterwards some Syrup of 
