xvir OUTDOOR AND INDOOR ORNITHOLOGY = 403 
lesson or two from some one who has mastered it, 
and a good deal of practice. Pace, which must 
be carefully distinguished from hurry, is a great 
desideratum. If you return in the evening with six 
birds that you wish to skin, you have some work 
before you. 
The keeping of birds as pets ought only to be 
undertaken by people like Mrs. Brightwen, .who are 
prepared to devote a great deal of care to them. 
And there are some that under the most favourable 
circumstances are always unhappy in confinement. 
A Robin Redbreast in a cage 
Puts all heaven in a rage. 
Water birds with clipped wings if they have a 
pond and a moderate run are not unhappy. The 
Gulls at the Zoo evidently take the keenest pleasure 
in their morning wash. Some people regret that 
such a bird as an Eagle is ever cabined in an 
aviary. I think a zoological society may fairly do 
what an individual may not, for the animals which it 
keeps in captivity afford instruction to large numbers 
of people. In the same way with stuffed specimens, 
it is the private collectors upon whom a check should 
be placed, rather than upon public museums. More- 
over it is comparatively inexpensive to build a large 
aviary in which birds may live happily, whereas 
boa-constrictors require much initial outlay of capital 
to build them a house, and considerable current 
expenditure to keep them warm. 
Much as we should like to dispense with books 
and learn everything from nature, it is clear that on 
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