Our  Canaries 
19 
is  sitting,  he  usually  has  to  go  right  away  from  near  proximity.  This  would  be  an 
advantage  with  some  hens,  but  in  other  cases  it  would  not.  But  as  a  counter- 
balance for  these  little  inconveniences  there  is,  besides  the  very  great  advantage  of 
portability  and  ease  with  which  the  cage  can  be  dealt  with,  a  considerably  greater 
control  over  any  kind  of  disease  which  may  break  out  and  be  suspected  of  being 
of  an  infectious  nature,  and  also  in  dealing  with  insect  pests. 
WHERE  THE   SINGLE   BREEDER  SCORES. 
We  must  assume  that  the  owner  has  his  stock  of  cages  arranged  in  proper 
order  upon  a  rack  standing  on  shelves,  one  above  another,  as  should  be  the  case 
with  every  breeder  of  good  stocks  of  birds.  Now  let  us  suppose  that  during  the 
breeding  season  a  nest  is  noticed  to  be  badly  infested  by  red  mites.  The  pest 
may  have  been  introduced  by  some  unforeseen  accident,  or  a  newly  acquired  bird. 
Anyway,  there  it  is,  and  in  all  probability  not  only  the  nest,  but  every  joint  and 
crevice  about  the  cage  will  have  become  infested.  If  immediate  steps  are  not 
adopted  to  stamp  out  the  pest  effectually  at  this  point,  that  one  compartment  will 
become  a  centre  of  infestation  for  every  cage  in  the  room,  and  to  begin  dabbing 
and  painting  on  fluids,  or  scattering  insect  powders,  results  only  too  often  in 
hastening  the  spread  of  the  plague  to  other  quarters.  Here  it  is  that  the 
portability  of  the  single  breeder  scores  heavily. 
A  spare  cage  of  the  same  size  and  type  is  prepared  and  thoroughly  cleaned, 
the  birds  quietly  transferred  to  it  after  having  had  a  good  bath  in  which  some 
essence  of  quassia  was  mixed,  the  infested  cage  carefully  removed  from  its 
position,  and  taken  right  away  out  of  the  room  without  so  much  as  being  rested 
upon  the  floor.  The  shelf  it  occupied  is  then  well  cleaned,  wiped  over  with  some 
good  disinfectant  and  the  fresh  cage  containing  the  birds  slid  into  position.  The 
infested  cage  may  then  be  most  thoroughly  dealt  with,  and  prepared  ready  for  a 
•similar  emergency  with  some  other  cage  if  one  should  arise.  All  this  may  appear 
upon  the  face  of  it,  in  print,  a  somewhat  tedious  and  laborious  proceeding,  but  as 
a  matter  of  fact  it  may  all  be  carried  through  in  less  time  than  it  takes  in 
describing  it. 
ISOLATION  NEEDED. 
In  like  manner  should  a  bird  succumb  to  any  complaint  which  one  has 
reason  to  believe  is  of  an  infectious  nature,  the  removal  of  the  cage  bodily,  with  all 
its  fitments  and  appliances,  may  nip  in  the  bud  what  may  otherwise  develop 
rapidly  in  a  most  fatal  epidemic.  In  this  last  named  event  it  will  be  a  very  wise 
poHcy  not  to  replace  the  cage  that  is  removed  until  one  is  satisfied  there  is  no 
infection  attached  to  the  disease,  and  in  the  meantime  wipe  the  shelf  over  daily 
with  a  cloth  wet  with  a  strong  solution  of  carbolic  disinfectant,  leaving  the  shelf 
in  a  well  moistened  condition. 
Two  other  important  points  should  be  borne  in  mind  in  all  these  cases. 
Pirst :  that  when  removing  a  cage  which  is  under  any  suspicion  of  this  kind,  it 
