THE ALMOND TUMBLER. 8i 



judicial instrument. It indulges in no flowers 

 of rhetoric; it does not allow the branches of 

 poesy to run over the wall. His description of 

 the bird and its environments is severely metho- 

 dical, unimpassioned, and business-like, but ac- 

 curate in all detail. He was a good Fancier. 



The principal record of advancement in the 

 culture of the bird was that now feeders for its 

 young have become necessary. The author of 

 the Treatise of 1765 says of Almonds: "They 

 require no attention while breeding provided 

 you supply them with meat and water, and 

 throw them a little straw." The Almond verily 

 has refined its manner, requiring now a pair 

 or two of wet nurses to wait on it. The accom- 

 panying illustration shows the bird of the period. 

 At this date (1802) the standard length of beak 

 was seven-eighths of an inch. 



After nearly a half century of silence the 

 voice of the enthusiastic Fancier, Mr Eaton, is 

 heard discoursing quaintly and discursively on 

 the merits and management of the Almond 

 Tumbler. In 1851 he published his Treatise, 

 which is a reprint of Windus, with additions by 

 the author. This work puts us down on the 

 threshold of the age we live in. 



During the last eighty years, with the ex- 



