i I 



BLUEY " 87 



well, and we congratulated ourselves upon what 

 seemed to be his complete recovery. But our hearts 

 sank when during the following morning the poor 

 little chap had two further attacks. In despair we 

 consulted a bird fancier, who told us that it was no 

 uncommon occurrence with soft-billed birds. This 

 was some small consolation, but the remedy recom- 

 mended did not at all appeal to us. Rush of blood 

 to the head was, he said, the cause, and the cure 

 was to let out some blood by cutting the toe. 



Needless to say this was an operation the per- 

 formance of which we dreaded, but then Bluey 

 must be cured at any cost, and if this was necessary, 

 as the bird man declared, it must be done — and 

 done it was the very next day. The patient did 

 not seem to object at all at the time, although the 

 next day his foot was slightly inflamed. To us the 

 most painful part was that he was not cured, for 

 on both the following days he had fits, proving 

 absolutely that the operation had been in vain. In 

 gi\'ing these unpleasant details, it is with the hope 

 that if any one reads these pages, and chances to 

 have a pet bird that is subject to fits, he, or she, will 

 not adopt the above method in trying to effect a cure. 



We next tried giving Bluey a complete change 

 of diet ; hitherto he had had moist " mockingbird 

 food," which is very rich ; now we tried the dry 

 preparation freely mixed with grated carrot, and 

 from that day he was perfectly well and happy, to 

 the infinite rehef of all his friends, for he was 

 looked upon quite as a member of the family. 



For some months all went well. Bluey was 

 himself again, a healthy, aiFectionate, and lovable 



