Our  Canaries 
THE   TIME    FOR  MOULTING. 
The  natural  moulting  season  will,  therefore,  be  seen  to  fit  in  the  interval 
between  the  close  of  the  nesting  operations  and  the  onset  of  Winter.  The 
middle  of  the  month  of  September  should  mark  as  nearly  as  possible  the 
centre  of  the  season,  and  the  bulk  of  the  process  should  take  place  between 
the  beginning  of  September  and  end  of  October.  This,  however,  will  be  far 
from  including  the  whole  of  the  time  when  more  or  less  moulting  is  going 
on.  The  earliest  of  the  birds  to  drop  into  moult  will  begin  to  cast  feathers 
towards  the  end  of  July,  whilst  the  latest  beginners,  or  the  very  slow 
moulters,  will  often  continue  to  cast  feathers  until  November  is  well  advanced. 
The  actual  length  and  progress  of  the  moult  is  materially  affected  by 
the  prevailing  atmospheric  conditions  at  the  end  of  Summer  and  during 
the  Autumn.  A  hot  dry  spell  at  the  end  of  the  Summer  and  a  mild 
equable  Autumn,  with  a  fair  average  humidity,  but  not  actually  wet,  or 
damp,  atmosphere,  are  the  ideal  conditions  to  ensure  a  quick  and  complete 
change,  and  the  birds  will,  under  such  conditions,  generally  be  in  a  prime  con- 
dition of  feather  for  the  November  shows.  The  earlier  the  moult  commences, 
within  reasonable  limits  (which  must  preclude  its  interference  with  the  normal 
breeding  season),  the  better,  as  an  early  beginning  will  enable  the  birds,  in- 
cluding also  those  which  naturally  moult  very  gradually  (except  only  quite 
abnormal  cases),  to  get  well  through  the  moult  and  fine  in  feather  before 
the  long  chilly  nights  of  the  late  Autumn  arrive. 
MOULTING  CAGES. 
Although  it  is  not  essential  to  have  any  special  type  of  cage  to  moult  the 
birds  in  (save  with  such  varieties  as  Lizards  and  London  Fancies,  which  are  often 
addicted  to  feather  plucking),  it  is  most  advisable  to  do  so,  and  particularly  in  the 
case  of  highly  bred  specimens  which  are  destined  to  figure  on  the  show-bench.  A 
properly  designed  moulting  cage  not  only  protects  the  new  plumage  from  dust, 
soiling  and  injury,  but  being  more  cosy  and  (unless  very  badly  placed)  quite 
secure  from  draughts  and  chills  they  tend  to  make  the  moult  run  evenly  and 
smoothly  and  to  materially  shorten  it.  The  smaller  amount  of  wire  in  the  front 
of  these  cages  also  serves  to  tone  down  the  light,  and  thereby  keeps  the  birds 
quieter,  which  again  tends  to  hasten  the  moult,  and,  at  the  same  time,  helps  to 
keep  them  from  mischievously  occupying  themselves,  or  fluttering  wildly  about  and 
damaging  the  young  quills  of  growing  feathers. 
We  give  three  types  of  these  moulting  cages,  of  which  the  type  shown  as 
No.  I.  is  the  ordinary  kind,  suitable  for  all  general  cases.  A  fair  average  size  will 
be  one  i8-ins.  long,  14-ins.  high,  and  8-ins.  from  back  to  front,  and  in  these  cages 
two  birds  may  be  moulted  together. 
No.  n.  is  the  moulting  cage  specially  useful  for  Lizards,  or  their  near  relatives 
the  London  Fancies;  it  is  the  type  used  by  Mr.  J.  Hampshire,  of  Lizard  notoriety, 
B 
