Our  Canaries 
55 
should  always  be  of  the  self-supplying  type,  so  that  any  soiling  of  the  out- 
sides  which  may  occur  from  droppings  will  not  foul  the  contents.  A  band  of  tin 
should  be  nailed  around  the  centre  of  the  pedestal  to  frustrate  the  attempts  of 
any  stray  mouse  which  may  find  a  way  to  this  land  of  promise  to  climb  on  to  the 
feeding  board.  The  bath  should  be  placed  upon  the  floor  and  be  of  good  size, 
but  not  more  than  one-and-a-half  to  two  inches  in  depth. 
FOR  SAFE  BATHING. 
Even  with  this  depth  of  bath,  the  water  should  not  be  more  than  half 
this  depth,  not  only  to  reduce  the  splashing  to  a  minimum,  but  to  render 
it  quite  safe  for  young  or  delicate  birds,  which  are  apt  to  be  very  helpless 
and  to  behave  very  foolishly  when  saturated  with  wet.     An  excellent  plan  to 
BATH   FOR  AVIABY. 
Showing  piece  of  rock  to  prevent  accidents  to  young  birds,  and  tray  to 
catch  splashed  water. 
avert  accidents  is  to  place  two  or  three  bits  of  rock  in  the  bath,  which  rest  firmly 
upon  the  bottom  and  reach  the  surface  of  the  water.  The  number,  of  course 
may  be  regulated  according  to  the  area  of  the  water — one  chip  being  sufficient  for 
ordinary  size  baths.  Then  again,  the  bath  should  be  placed  on  a  shallow 
tray  three  or  four  times  the  area  of  the  bath  itself,  to  catch  the  overflow  and 
splashes,  and  thereby  keep  the  floor  of  the  aviary  always  dry. 
Orthodox  straight  perches  should  be  limited  to  a  number  of  short  ones 
projecting  about  a  foot  or  so  from  the  walls  in  places  where  they  are  best 
suited  to  act  as  sleeping  perches  or  to  give  access  to  nesting  sites.  A  trapeze 
perch  or  two  may  be  suspended  from  the  ceiling,  and  for  the  rest  natural 
twigs  and  branches  secured  at  intervals  about  the  walls  with  a  small  bushy 
shrub  or  two  growing  in  pots  dotted  here  and  there  about  the  floor  will  supply 
all  that  is  needed  in  the  way  of  perches,  and  add  considerably  to  the  general 
.aspect  of  the  little  bird  sanctuary.  For  nesting  sites  wicker  nest-baskets  may 
be  secured  in  the  bushes  ;  nest  boxes  of  the  usual  Norwich  type  ;  German 
travelling  cages,  with  the  short  bars  removed  ;  or  cigar  boxes  with  half  the 
lid  sawn  off  and  the  other  half  tacked  down  will  form  the  most  useful  and 
acceptable  articles.  The  latter  type  of  nests  should  be  hung  well  up  overhead, 
as  the  majority  of  birds  will  show  a  very  decided  bent  for  the  highest 
inesting  sites. 
