Our  Canaries 
17 
it  when  the  box  is  stood  upon  its  side  in  the  proper  position  of  a  cage,  which  space 
is  to  allow  the  wooden  tray  with  a  supply  of  sand  to  be  pushed  in  and  form  the 
floor  of  the  cage.  The  3  in.  cross  piece  is  to  support  the  wire  front,  which  may 
be  purchased  of  any  required  size,  or  made  at  home  by  a  handy  man. 
As  the  construction  of  these  fronts  calls  for  but  a  small  amount  of  skill  any 
beginner  may  easily  make  them  himself  to  suit  his  own  particular  ideas  and  taste. 
In  order  to  do  this  he  should  first  procure  and  read  a  very  useful  and  practical 
work  on  the  subject  which  is  published  at  2/3,  post  free,  at  the  office  of  "  Cage  Birds'' 
entitled  Aviaries,  Bird-rooms  and  Cages.  With  the  help  of  this  little  book  and 
the  few  simple  tools  which  are  fully  described,  any  fancier  will  be  able  to  make 
all  his  fronts,  and  apply  to  them  just  his  own  ideas  of  what  he  needs. 
This  type  of  cage  may  also  be  made  with  the  whole  of  the  wood  and  wire- 
work  forming  the  front  in  one  separate  piece,  which  is  pinned  on  in  proper 
position  with  strong  panel  pins— small  screws  might  be  used  for  the  purpose— so 
that  it  is  easily  levered  off  at  any  time. 
THE   VALUE   OF   MOVABLE  FRONTS. 
The  object  of  these  movable  front  cages  is  a  most  important  one,  and  should 
be  made  an  essential  feature  by  every  beginner  in  the  Fancy.  It  gives  the  most 
perfect  access  to  the  inner  parts  of  the  cage  for  cleaning  and  disinfecting,  and 
every  little  operation  one  may  wish  to  carry  out  in  the  inner  part  of  the  cage. 
Remove  the  front,  and  the  inside  of  the  whole  concern  is  as  easily  get-at-able  as 
the  outside,  the  full  advantage  of  this  being  only  perfectly  realised  by  one  who  has 
tried  to  wash  and  paint  the  inside  of  a  cage  of  the  old-fashioned  type  by  putting 
the  hand  and  forearm  in  through  the  doorway. 
Above  a  certain  minimum  the  size  of  the  breeding  cage  is  of  little  importance. 
Where  one  is  blessed  with  a  large  amount  of  space  for  the  pursuit  of  his  hobby  the 
larger  the  cages,  within  reasonable  limits,  the  better.  The  minimum  size  for  a 
single  compartment  cage  should  be  20  in.  long,  16  ins.  high,  from  roof  to  floor, 
and  io\  ins.  deep,  from  back  to  front. 
But  these  measurements  may  be,  and  often  are,  doubled  or  trebled,  in  the 
length ;  still  retaining  the  same  dimensions  in  width  and  depth,  or  very  nearly  so 
and  one  or  two  partitions  inserted  at  equal  distances  apart  and  from  each  end,  so 
as  to  divide  the  cage  into  two  or  three  equal  divisions,  as  the  case  maybe.  If 
these  partitions  are  made  movable  to  slide  in  or  out  at  will  as  is  usually  the  case,  they 
may  be  taken  out  after  the  breeding  season  is  over,  and  the  cage  turned  into  one 
large  flight  cage  in  which  the  stock  birds  may  be  kept  through  the  winter,  and 
thereby  get  a  much  larger  amount  of  healthy  vigorous  exercise  than  it  is  possible 
for  them  to  obtain  in  the  limits  of  an  ordinary  single  compartment  cage.  They 
are  thus  made  to  serve  the  double  purpose  of  breeding  cages  during  the  summer, 
and  stock  or  flight  cages  during  the  remainder  of  the  year,  which  is  an  advantage 
