34 
Our  Canaries 
Where  earthenware  pans  with  linings  are  used,  no  moss  need  be  supplied, 
but  a  supply  of  hair  must  be  given  for  the  birds  to  put  in  a  small  lining  on 
their  own  account. 
AVIARY  APPLIANCES  CONSIDERED. 
In  large  cage  aviaries  or  more  extensive  structures  where  the  ordinary 
type  of  seed  and  water  vessels  are  too  insignificant,  self-supplying  seed  hoppers 
and  water  vessels  should  be  used.  The  former  will  be  found  most  economical 
if  divided  into  separate  compartments  by  which  each  kind  of  seed  given  may 
be  kept  separate.  These  divisions  should  vary  in  size  according  to  the 
proportions  of  each  kind  of  seed  found  most  generally  suitable.  Thus  a  four- 
division  hopper  should  have  rather  less  than  one  half  of  the  whole  devoted  to  the 
canary  seed  holder,  about  a  quarter  of  the  whole  to  the  division  for  summer 
rape,  and  the  remainder  divided  into  two  equal  spaces  for  hemp,  and  a  mixture 
of  various  other  seeds  respectively. 
FIXING  THE  WATER  VESSELS. 
The  "  Hygienic "  water  fountains,  of  which  an  illustration  appears  on 
page  1 8,  made  of  glass  on  the  self-supplying  system  are  wholly  excellent 
appliances  and  exceptionally  easy  to  manage  and  keep  clean.  A  very  good 
appliance  on  the  same  principle  can  be  obtained  in  white  pottery,  which 
may  appeal  more  to  the  esthetic  taste,  but  it  lacks  the  advantage  possessed 
by  the  glass  vessel  of  always  showing  at  a  glance  how  the  water  supply  stands. 
Both  these  appliances,  wherever  they  are  used,  should  be  provided  with  a 
small  pedestal  or  stand  in  the  middle  of  the  structure,  and  supported  on  a 
single  leg,  preferably  an  iron  rod,  which  will  prove  an  effective  bar  to  rats  or 
mice  climbing  up  on  to  the  table  and  stealing  the  seeds.  If  an  iron  rod 
support  is  not  obtainable  a  single  wooden  leg  should  be  provided  and  the 
whole  rubbed  down  quite  smoothly  with  sand-paper,  and  a  band  of  tin  about 
six  inches  wide  nailed  closely  down  to  the  wood  midway  between  the  floor 
and  top  of  pedestal  whereon  the  seed  and  water  vessels  are  placed.  These 
pests  must  be  kept  away  at  any  cost,  and  particularly  the  first-named,  as  one 
might  almost  as  well  give  grey  grimalkin  herself  access  to  an  aviary  full  of  birds 
as  a  full-grown  rat. 
THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  SUITABLE  PERCHES. 
Before  passing  on  from  the  subject  of  cage  and  aviary  fittings  and  appliances, 
a  word  may  be  said  about  the  perches.  The  arrangement  of  perches  in  small 
cages  should  be  carefully  considered.  Too  many  perches  are  worse  than  too  few, 
and  overcrowding  of  them  should  be  avoided.  They  should  not  cross  over 
each  other  so  that  the  lower  perches  are  constantly  being  fouled  by  the  bird 
from  the  upper  perches,  neither  should  they  be  so  placed  that  the  bird  cannot  pass 
