Our  Canaries  31 
In  large  open  wire  cages  such  as  the  so-called  Crystal  Palace  aviaries  the 
hens  will  almost  invariably  prefer  a  position  high  up  the  dome  or  arches,  and  in 
many  cases  will  absolutely  refuse  any  other.  But  then  there  will  occasionally 
occur  cranky  individuals  whose  aspirations  and  sense  of  the  eternal  fitness  of 
things  do  not  rise  above  the  floor,  and  they  will  persist,  in  spite  of  all  hindrances, 
in  attempting  to  build  their  nest  upon  the  cage  floor. 
HUMOURING  THE  LADY. 
There  is  no  reasoning  with  such  individuals.  There  is  but  one  way  to  meet 
the  situation,  and  that  is  to  pander  to  the  hen's  idiosyncrasies  and  place  a  nest- 
box  on  the  floor  for  her.  It  is  just  possible  that  when  she  has  laid  her 
complement  of  eggs  and  begins  to  sit  she  will  allow  the  nest  to  be  moved  an  inch 
or  two  each  day,  and  gradually  raised  on  to  the  wires.  But  it  is  not  wise  to 
attempt  to  move  the  nest  any  great  distance  from  its  original  position.  If  it  can 
be  moved  by  easy  stages  to  the  nearest  end,  and  raised  on  to  the  wires  just  high 
enough  to  clear  the  floor  in  order  to  permit  the  sand  tray  to  be  withdrawn  for 
cleaning  when  required,  let  that  suffice. 
A  USEFUL  DEVICE. 
A  rack  is  a  very  useful  adjunct  to  the  breeding  cage,  and  may  be  hung  on  the 
outside  of  the  wire  in  the  same  manner  as  the  seed  boxes  are  suspended.  An 
easily  accessible  position  must  be  chosen,  either  against  the  end  of  a  perch 
or  where  the  birds  can  quite  conveniently  reach  to  pluck  at  the  contents. 
Their  purpose  is  to  hold  the  nesting  material  when  required,  instead  of  hanging  a 
nest  bag  in  the  cage,  which  is  both  a  wasteful  and  untidy  method.  When  not  in 
use  for  this  purpose  they  may  be  utilised  to  hold  a  flake  of  cuttlefish,  which  is 
essential  to  complete  the  outfit  of  every  breeding  cage,  and  the  green  food  will 
also  be  most  conveniently  held  in  it. 
FITTING  THE  LINING. 
Linings  will  be  necessary  for  the  earthenware  pans,  and  might  also  with 
every  advantage  be  used  in  the  rush  nests  in  the  few  cases  where  this  type  of  nest 
will  be  adopted.  These  linings  will  be  composed  of  swansdown  or  felt,  and  may 
be  purchased  ready  made,  separately,  or  the  pans  themselves  may  be  had  with 
the  linings  fixed  in  them.  But  in  the  latter  case  the  fancier  will  still  need  to  know 
how  to  cut  and  fix  a  lining  on  his  own  accord,  as  the  lining  is  only  intended  to 
be  of  a  temporary  nature,  and  should  be  renewed  each  season  at  least.  Having 
procured  a  piece  of  soft  felting  or  swansdown,  as  the  case  may  be,  first  take  a 
piece  of  pliable,  soft  brown  paper  rather  larger  than  the  inside  of  the  pans,  press 
it  carefully  into  a  pan,  smoothing  it  down  closely  all  round,  and  leave  the 
surplus  in  three  folds  from  near  the  bottom  of  the  pan  up  the  sides  to  the  rim 
about  equi-distant  apart.    Rub  the  folds  down  until  they  show  a  distinct  crease. 
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