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Besides annuals, calendars, and special reports published by the 

 larger bird clubs, there are several monthly and fortnightly 

 magazines with constantly increasing circulations, and containing all 

 the news, experiences, discussions, and ordinary matter appertaining 

 to the subject. All are open to advertisements facilitating the 

 immense home trade. The ease with which the statements of 

 advertisers can be verified by reference to published award lists, 

 checks any unfair practice of creating a large trade in inferior stock 

 merely by excessive publicity and mendatious statements. 



No expense is spared by the upper and middle classes in providing 

 a beautiful home for their drawing-room pets, and the cages 

 frequently form part of some elaborate piece of furniture, such as a 

 flower stand, or ornamental table, or wall bracket, but the Germans 

 do not by any means shine in the way of exhibition cages. Each 

 show committee has its own stock of show cages, and the pattern 

 and size of these are uniform throughout the country. When it is 

 considered that these official cages are used only once a year and that 

 between the competitions they are left to get dusty and rusty, it will 

 be easily understood that the uniform show cage system prevalent in 

 Germany, and which is now forming a burning question in this 

 country, does not conduce to the picturesqueness of their shows. 

 At the same time the birds which go the rounds of the shows feel 

 quite at home in whatever exhibition they may find themselves. 

 Indeed they are only too happy to escape the discomfit involved by 

 the miserably inefficient travelling accommodation accorded to 

 them. I have seen half a dozen valuable canaries pushed into a 

 cigar box fitted with a single perch and provided with a few air 

 holes, and in this they had to undergo a night's journey, Half an 

 hour's exercise in a flight cage, rape seed and warm water for drink- 

 ing, but not enough to bathe in, soon set them right again, and 

 prepared them for their transfer to the familiar show cages. The 

 comparative liberty afforded to them on their arrival was a great 

 treat to the poor cooped-up prisoners, and, afterwards, they were 

 quite ready to display to the best effect their accomplishments. 

 After passing the judge, and spending a day or two in the exhibition, 

 they were again relegated to the original cigar box and, I must own, 

 arrived home without receiving any harm from such rough treat- 

 ment. 



