Breeding and Management. 



53 



about the centre of one side, but near the top of the box, 

 with a gimlet, and a screw nail fixed to the back of the 

 cage, will be the best means to adopt to insure its safety. 

 The top of the box should be left open, for light and ven- 

 tilation. The tin pan may be lined with felt or horse-cloth, 

 fixed in with thin glue size ; but the birds ought to be 

 furnished with all the usual materials to build a nest. These 

 boxes are preferable to all other arrangements for cages, as 

 there is no necessity, where they are used, to supply furze or 

 plants of any sort, unless the hens are known to be naturally 

 timid, as wooden boxes afford as much privacy as is 

 necessary. 



The usual perches, vessels for seed and water, and drawers, 

 or tin pans for the use of soft food, should be fitted to the 

 front or end of the cage. At the extreme bottom of the 

 front of the cage a lath should be fitted, to answer the 

 purpose of a draw-board, so that it can be readily cleaned 

 out ; the lath should be l^^in. in depth, and a small iron 

 scraper (see Fig. 27), made for the express purpose, should 

 be used for removing the dirt off the bottom of the cage. 

 This operation should be performed about once in ten 

 days, or oftener if required, excepting when the birds are 

 incubating; in the latter case, it would be well to omit 

 the cleansing until the young brood are from seven to ten 

 days old. If left to a later period, there would be a danger 

 in startling them, as by any sudden fright they would be 

 likely to bound from the nest to the bottom of the cage, and, 

 if an untoward circumstance of this kind occurred, there 

 would be some danger of their perishing for want of warmth 

 and maternal attention ; for it frequently happens that when 

 a young bird leaves the nest at the age of twelve days, it is an 

 all but impossible task to induce it to return and remain 

 there afterwards. 



In the selection of birds for the purpose already men- 

 tioned, a hand-reared Bullfinch hen, that has been bred the 

 previous year, is a desirable acquisition ; in any case, she must 

 be several months indoors, and kept with other birds in a 

 large cage or drawing-room aviary for some time, choice 

 being given to those that are tame and tractable. The male 

 bird should likewise be house-moulted, one that has been 

 bred with canaries to be preferred. Both must be in robust 



