66 The Aviaries at " HamiMean" — Ipswich." 
members. In the autumn of 1912 I bought a beautiful 
hen from one of our members, and in the spring T procured 
a fine mate for her. Everything seemed to be going swim- 
mingly. They inspected the nesting receptacles and seemed 
to find one to their liking, for they were constantly in and out 
of it. About a fortnight later, judge of my surprise and 
and chagrin, when on opening the door of the inner-house 
I found the beautiful cock lying dead! The day after his 
death the little hen laid her first egg, subsequently laying two 
more. She incubated steadily for the whole time and was 
very seldom seen off the nest; unfortunately all the eggs were 
infertile. T believe, had young been hatched out, she would 
have reared them, for she was most attentive. [It is by no 
mean.i uncommon with this species for the male to have to 
be removed while the young are being reared and the hen left 
to bring up the young, which she usually does successfu]l3^ -- 
Ed.]. I advertised for another cock, but without success. 
However, in late September I 1»ught a young male of the 
year, not then in full plumage. He was moulting into a 
fine bird, when he also died .suddenly, having been in my pos- 
session nearly four months, and the little hen still wants a 
mate. 
Aviary No. 1: This, my largest aviary was only 
completed in the early spring of last year: it is planted with 
bushes and climbing plants, with a grass lawn in the centre; 
the whole being surrounded with a crag path. The area of 
the aviary is 26ft. by 12ft., 15ft. high at ridge, and 8ft. at 
the sides. It is covered with fin. mesh netting, which is let 
into the ground 1ft. all the way round, and then tui'ued out- 
wards for a few inches. The span roof, which was put on to 
existing iron uprights (covered with roses), is made 
of l^in. angle-iron, which although quite light is very strong. 
The whole work of cutting the iron into necessary lengths, of 
drilling holes and bolting together, etc., was done by a handy- 
man — a sort of .Tack-of-all -trades— Avith the help of a labourer 
and also myself for a part of the time, and T think, consider- 
ing the somewhat cramped quarters they had to work in (there 
being a rose -bed on the one side and a herbaceous border on 
the other), the result is most satisfactory (vide photo), and 
the work of these two men compares very favourably with 
that of some of the be.^t firms of aviary builders; and the 
price, too, was right. 
