CAGE AND SINGING BIRDS. 
27 
DISEASES. 
The last scene of all in this eventful history" with birds, 
as well as man, is death, and diseases are the gloomy avenues 
which lead to the place of long* and unbroken rest ; hence we 
have thought it well to make a few observations upon bird 
sickness at the end of this general section, or division, of our 
subject. 
There can be no doubt that birds kept in confinement are 
exposed to the attacks of a far greater number of maladies 
than those in a wild state; but we think it should not be 
inferred from this, that the free bird usually has a longer 
lease of life than the captive ; it is exposed to many dangers 
and privations, which the caged songster altogether escapes ; 
and great as mnj be its activity and power of endurance, 
yet it is so frequently shot, snared, frozen, starved, or 
devoured by its furred or feathered enemies, that a peaceful 
and natural termination to its existence must be quite an 
exceptional case. A life of liberty, then, it should be remem- 
^ ^ bered, is not all song and sunshine, any more than a life of 
captivity is so sad and pitiable as some would have us sup- 
pose. We do not mean to set up this as a plea for the 
capture and confinement of the sweet songsters of the fields 
and woodlands ; our intention is to show that there is not so 
much cruelty in keeping birds in cages and aviaries, obnox- 
ious as they may be in this state to numerous ills not natural 
i I to bird flesh, as we are frequently told there is. We are 
willing to concede that it may often deserve the name of 
cruelty, to deprive old birds of their liberty — to mew up the 
j free rejoicing creature, that has been used to spread its 
Einions in the golden sunlight, and breathe the fresh air of 
eaven, far away from the dimmed and polluted atmosphere 
of towns and cities. We do not advocate the capture of 
such ; give them their life of freedom with all its dangers and 
privations; they enjoy it, they revel in it, happily uncon- 
scious of the doom that may suddenly overtake them. But 
for young birds that have never experienced these pleasures 
of freedom, but have been brought up under the care of man ; 
that have learned to look upon him as a friend and protector, 
tud have not learned to provide themselves with the food 
