14 
Our  Canaries 
commend  it  to  inexperienced  fanciers  and  young  beginners,  who,  it  must  be 
admitted,  are  almost  its  sole  buyers,  but,  even  when  put  together  by  the  best 
workmen,  it  affords  such  abundant  harbour  for  red  mites,  not  to  mention  micros- 
copic disease  germs  if  any  infectious  disease  should  ever  attack  the  birds,  and 
are  withal  so  un-get-at-able  for  thorough  cleansing  and  disinfection  that  there  is 
nothing  to  lose  and  all  to  gain  in  the  way  of  sanitation  and  appearance  by 
discarding  it  altogether. 
A   FAVOURITE   GERMAN  CAGE. 
As  the  merits  of  the  all-wire  breeding  cage  have  been  the  subject  of  some 
discussion  of  late  it  may  be  well  to  mention  an  example  of  this  type  favoured  by 
some  German  breeders.  This  type  may  well  be  described  as  an  enlarged  edition 
of  the  cage  just  mentioned,  but  is  without  the  inner  platform,  and  all  nesting 
receptacles  are  composed  of  very  small  cages  similar  in  appearance  to  nursery 
cages,  which  are  hung  on  the  outside  of  the  larger  cage  in  the  same  way  as  seed 
hoppers,  access  to  them  being  allowed  by  the  provision  of  a  sufficient  number  of 
small  doors  in  the  sides  of  the  large  cage,  placed  at  regular  intervals  either  on 
two  sides  or  all  way  round,  as  may  best  suit  the  breeder's  ideas  of  his  require- 
ments. Racks  for  holding  nesting  material  or  greenstuff,  fruit,  or  cuttlefish,  are 
also  suspended  around  the  cage  on  the  outside  in  a  similar  manner,  thereby 
leaving  the  whole  of  the  inner  space  unobstructed  and  at  the  disposal  of  the  birds 
for  exercise.  Food  and  water  are  placed  inside  upon  the  floor  in  self-supplying 
hoppers  and  fountains,  and  the  main  purpose  of  the  cage  is  to  breed  with  several 
hens  and  one  cock,  which  fly  loose  altogether. 
Cages  answering  this  description  have  long  been  on  the  German  Market,  and 
may  be  obtained  in  a  collapsible  form,  which  enables  the  whole  concern  to  be 
taken  apart  and  packed  flat  for  storage  in  a  minimum  of  space  when  the 
breeding  season  is  over  and  the  cage  is  no  longer  required  for  its  proper  use  on 
account  of  the  season's  product  being  either  disposed  of  to  the  merchant,  or  the 
hens  relegated  to  one  large  flight,  and  the  cocks  transferred  to  the  small  singing  cages 
to  undergo  tuition  in  the  art  of  singing. 
AN   ORNAMENTAL   BREEDING  CAGE. 
If  a  sufficient  demand  were  to  arise  among  English  breeders  to  warrant  this 
type  of  cage  being  placed  upon  our  market  at  a  reasonable  price  it  would 
undoubtedly  soon  be  readily  supplied  either  by  home  or  Continental  makers,  and 
if  both  essayed  to  supply  the  demand,  then  a  little  healthy  competition  must 
soon  result  in  bringing  the  articles  within  the  reach  of  the  masses  of  breeders. 
But  at  the  present  time  the  actual  nett  cost  of  the  fitted  cage  to  our  English 
breeders  would  probably  prove  prohibitive  to  all  but  a  few. 
The  so-called  Crystal  Palace  aviary  must  also  be  regarded  in  the  light  of  an 
open  wire  cage,  whenever  it  is  used  as  a  breeding  cage  for  canaries  and  treated 
