Our  Canaries 
123 
Date 
1896. 
gust 
9 
Cool 
>? 
10 
Warm 
>> 
II 
Cool 
J> 
12 
Cool 
13 
Warm 
14* 
Cool 
>  > 
15 
Cool 
>> 
16 
Warm 
17 
Warm 
>» 
18* 
Warm 
> » 
19 
Warm 
20 
Warm 
State  of 
Weather. 
Number  of  ' '  drinks  "  taken  each  time  water 
was  offered  • 
3  — 
4 
—  2  — 
2 
3  — 
5 
—  2  — 
2 
3  — 
5 
—  5  — 
2 
4  — 
2 
—  2  — 
3 
4  — 
3 
—  6  — 
5 
5  — 
8 
—  6  — 
5 
4  — 
5 
_  6  — 
6 
4  — 
2 
—  4  — 
6 
4  — 
3 
—  5  — 
5 
7  — 
6 
—  5  — 
5 
3  — 
7 
—  5  — 
4 
3  — 
3 
—  5  — 
7 
2 
3 
2 
3 
3 
4 
6 
2 
4 
2 
2 
Total  number  of  drinks 
each  day. 
13 
15 
15 
13 
21 
29  \ 
27 
23 
24 
29 
22 
23 
Si 
,(U  to 
o  S 
-M  IT) 
INDISCRIMINATE  DOSING  REPREHENSIBLE, 
The  really  practical  fancier  who  values  the  best  interests  and  welfare  of 
his  stock  cannot  afford  to  cultivate  a  vapid  sympathy  with  that  kind  of  bird- 
keeping  which  necessitates  the  fitting  up  of  a  special  corner  of  the  bird-room 
as  a  kind  of  avine  dispensary  for  the  storage  of  the  host  of  drugs  and 
nostrums  which  are  now  prescribed  for  the  medical  treatment  of  cage  birds. 
The  knowledge,  how  to  prevent  disease  by  proper  and  judicious  management 
of  the  stock  is  of  so  much  greater  value  to  the  fancier  than  the  knowledge 
how  to  cure  the  ills  which  arise  from  improper  food  and  general  mismanage- 
ment, that  the  former  is  of  paramount  importance.  The  bird  that  is  often  in 
need  of  some  drug  to  patch  up  its  health  is  of  little  use  for  anything. 
Certainly  it  should  be  most  strictly  prohibited  from  reproducing  its  kind. 
And  there's  the  rub,  for  as  often  as  not  such  a  bird  is  merely  patched  up  in 
the  hope  of  getting  a  nest  or  two  of  young  from  it.  Yet,  curious  anomaly, 
the  young  thus  born  in  weakness  are  expected  to  grow  up  in  strength  and 
vigour. 
The  multiplicity  of  extremely  handy,  and  mostly  cheap,  proprietary 
medicines  on  the  bird  market  are  undoubtedly  a  great  temptation  to  the 
young  and  inexperienced  fancier,  who  is  far  too  apt  to  regard  these  so-called 
"  cure-alls "  as  modern  miracle  workers,  designed  to  counteract  the  natural 
effect  of  bad  management  or  unhealthy  surroundings  without  a  removal  of 
the  cause,  which  in  most  cases  would  be  sufficient  to  enable  Nature  to  effect 
the  necessary  cure.    We  do  not  for  a  moment  assert  that  none  of  these  pro- 
m2 
