Aviaries and Cages. 



27 



For those Fanciers who desire to keep larger quantities, a 

 spare room would be most suitable. If the entire room 

 be used, a wired frame or wire netting (^in. mesh) should 

 be placed over the window, so that it can be opened to 

 let in the air, and prevent the occupants from escaping. 

 The window should be opened daily, except in very cold 

 and inclement weather ; and if an iron ventilator (one that 

 opens and shuts with a slide) can be inserted into the outer 

 wall, so much the better; if not, a square hole should be 

 cut out of an inner wall, say, over the door leading to the 

 staircase, and a wired frame, or a wooden frame covered 

 with perforated zinc, fitted into it. At the entrance to the 

 room there should be a lobby erected to fit round the door 

 inside, about 3ft. square if the door opens outwardly, and a 

 little larger if it opens inwardly. This framework can be 

 made of stout laths, say, l|^in. by fin., and fitted with an 

 inner door to open into the room, and covered with -^-in. 

 wired netting, and secured with a stout hook and small 

 iron staple, or with a bolt or lock, so that you can close 

 the outer door before you enter your aviary or exhibit your 

 birds to a friend when it is not convenient to take any- 

 one inside ; that is, when the birds are breeding, as they are 

 generally alarmed at the presence of a stranger at these times. 



The room can be fitted up to suit the taste and require- 

 ments of the owner, with breeding compartments, trees in 

 tubs, or shrubs in large flower-pots. Nests of various kinds 

 can be placed in different parts of the room — perches, feed- 

 ing-hoppers, tins, and water vessels. The floor should be 

 liberally strewed with sand or very fine gravel, or both, and 

 cleaned out when necessary, as cleanliness is a condition 

 that must be observed, not only for the sake of the birds, 

 but for the sake of those who inhabit the other portions 

 of the house. It is not desirable to place too many varieties 

 together. All the Finch tribes will agree readily enough ; 

 but if you mix them up with Thrushes, Blackbirds, Starlings, 

 and other large birds, the probability is that dissensions will 

 occur, and ultimately terminate in some dire confiict and 

 catastrophe. Bullfinches, Groldfinches, Greenfinches, Linnets, 

 Siskins, Ohafiinches, Eedpolls, and Canaries generally agree 

 well together. 



Seed-eating birds should be kept apart from those which 



