12 
Our  Canaries 
immune  to  cold  draughts,  but  such  a  cage,  which,  by  its  very  nature  and  design, 
is  calculated  to  expose  the  occupant  to  every  chill  wind  that  blows,  as  well  as 
every  heated  blast  in  an  intensified  form,  is  little  better  than  a  death-trap  when 
it  comes  to  be  kept  in  a  kitchen,  where  these  adverse  conditions  are  usually 
at  their  worst,  and  the  daily  avocations  are  giving  rise  to  extreme  and  unnatural 
fluctuations  almost  hour  by  hour. 
THE    CARDINAL  POINTS. 
By  adhering  to  a  few  cardinal  points  in  this  matter  of  cages  a  vast  amount 
of  unnecessary  suffering  would  be  spared  the  birds,  and  much  disappointment 
and  discouragement  avoided  by  the  owner.  As  a  general  rule  all  open  wire 
should  be  wholly  avoided  for  every  purpose,  save  in  a  limited  number  of  cases 
where  the  dictates  of  custom  and  policy  demand  their  use.  Such  cases  are  to  be 
found  in  the  exhibition  realm,  where  the  orthodox  show  cage  for  the  Scotch  Fancy, 
Belgian,  Lancashire,  and  Yorkshire  varieties  are  of  this  description  and, 
consequently,  both  customary  usage  and  good  policy  demand  that  the  new 
exhibitor  must  fall  into  the  ranks  and  adhere  to  the  generally  accepted  and 
prevailing  conditions. 
It  is  not  for  us  to  criticise  the  method  in  this  place,  although,  to  avoid 
any  wrong  impression,  it  is  best  to  point  out  that  when  one  wishes  to  take  a  place 
in  the  exhibition  arena  it  is  absolutely  essential,  if  one  is  to  avoid  unpleasant 
consequences,  and  to  ensure  success,  to  recognise  the  rules  and  regulations 
governing  such  exhibitions  which  are  accepted  and  generally  observed  by  everyone 
who  takes  up  their  section  of  the  Fancy  with  a  right  spirit,  and  singleness  of 
purpose  to  win  fairly  or  to  lose  in  a  sportsmanlike  spirit. 
That  being  so  it  naturally  becomes  a  matter  of  necessity  to  adopt  the  open 
wire  cage  for  the  breeds  in  question  when  exhibiting  them.  Whether  this  method 
appeals  to  the  owner  or  not  is  out  of  question,  he  must  do  it.  But  even  in  this 
case  it  is  not  needful  to  keep  the  birds  in  their  show  cages  continually.  As  the 
term  implies,  the  only  object  and  purpose  of  these  cages  is  for  showing  the  bird  in, 
so  that  the  bird's  lodgment  in  them  is  only  intended  to  be  of  quite  a  temporary 
nature,  and  in  the  vast  majority  of  cases  it  will  not  exceed  sixty  hours  con- 
secutively, including  the  time  of  transit  to  and  from  the  show,  whilst  little  more 
than  half  this  time  would  cover  the  interval  required  in  most  cases,  and  during 
that  portion  of  this  time  which  is  occupied  by  the  journey  to  and  fro,  the  cages 
are  well  packed  and  the  occupants  secure  from  exposure. 
Therefore,  this  class  of  cage  scarcely  comes  within  the  scope  of  cages  as  we 
were  considering  them.  Whenever  an  open  wire  cage  from  any  cause  or  reason 
at  all,  is  adopted  for  general  use  it  should  only  be  in  rooms  where,  as  already 
pointed  out,  the  temperature  is  most  unvarying,  and  there  is  not  the  least 
possibility  of  cold  draughts  of  air  blowing  through  them.     Cages  of  the  box 
