Our  Canaries 
Indeed,  the  only  direction  we  can  see  for  inventive  genius  lies  in  the  production 
of  a  safety  cage  from  which  the  bird  cannot  be  removed  without  sufficient 
trouble  to  attract  some  attention,  which  would  go  far  to  prevent  theft  or 
injury  at  shows.  Such  cases  are,  however,  happily  of  rare  occurrence,  and 
we  may  at  least  hope  that  by  the  time  the  desired  invention  is  produced,  there 
will  be  no  more  need  for  its  use.  Several  attempts  to  perfect  such  a  cage 
have  been  made,  but  the  probability  is  that  the  idea  is  impracticable, 
inasmuch  that  access  to  the  bird  must  be  free  and  comparatively  unobstructed  to 
the  judge,  should  he  wish  to  remove  the  bird  from  its  cage  to  examine  it  minutely 
before  arriving  at  a  decision,  and  his  time  is  often  far  too  limited  to  allow  it  to  be 
wasted  in  getting  birds  in  and  out  of  the  safety  cages  so  far  devised.  Were  it  per- 
missible for  the  exhibitor  to  secure  the  cage  before  it  left  his  possession  until  its 
return,  the  thing  would  be  quite  easy,  but  that  being  impossible  makes  the  matter 
largely  impracticable. 
UNIFORMITY  IN  SHOW  CAGES. 
In  cases  where  specialist  clubs  have  adopted  a  particular  style  and  colour 
of  show  cage  it  ought  to  be  generally  used  by  all  fanciers  of  that  particular 
variety.  To  do  so  would  help  us  a  long  way  towards  the  millennium  when  the 
exhibition  world  will  be  free  from  petty  jealousies  and  suspicion.  But  that 
time  does  not  appear  to  have  arrived  yet,  and  everyone  has  a  pretty  free  hand 
to  exercise  individual  ingenuity  in  the  matter  of  show  cages  and  staging. 
First  of  all  one  must  consider  the  fact  that  it  is  the  birds  and  not  the  cages 
that  have  to  be  judged  and  that  the  exhibits  must,  or  should,  appear  of 
perfectly  neutral  ownership  before  the  judges.  This  conformity  to  recognised 
conditions  should  extend  also  to  the  colour  of  cages.  The  outsides  are 
invariably  painted  or  enamelled  of  a  black  colour.  Black  paint  having 
the  peculiarity  of  remaining  a  very  long  time  in  a  slightly  "  tacky  "  condition, 
it  is  much  better  to  give  the  outsides  two  thin  coats  of  black  enamel  similar 
to  Brunswick  Black,  and  finish  off  with  a  coat  of  copal  varnish. 
NO   GLOSSINESS  INSIDE. 
Enamel  is  also  largely  used  for  the  insides.  But  as  this  dries  with  a 
glossy  surface,  which  some  hold  detracts  much  from  the  appearance  of  the 
bird,  it  might  be  better  to  use  a  paint  which  will  dry  with  a  flat  or  dull 
surface.  To  do  this  get  a  sample  of  the  exact  colour  required — a  piece  of 
coloured  paper  will  do — take  it  to  a  painter  and  ask  him  to  mix  the  quantity 
required  of  "  flatting,"  and  to  make  it  to  dry  hard.  This  is  a  term  used  in 
the  trade  for  paint  mixed  without  oil  or  varnish,  and  which  dries  with  a 
perfectly  dull  surface.  It  will  dry  quite  hard,  and  may  be  washed  almost  as 
much  as  enamel.    Do  not  use  ordinary  paints,  nor  be  persuaded  to  take  those 
