332 
An Easter Tour Among Mrmhers' Aviaries. 
In cages were grand specimens of the Greater Sulphur- 
crested Cockatoo, Blue-fronted Amazon and Grey Parrots, all 
being good talkers, especially tlie last two, which were most 
entertaining. 
AYe only regretted having to hring our visii, so quickly 
to an end— our time, both indoor,; and out was most interesting, 
our hostess, being very Ivcen on her birds, made our inter- 
course most entertaining and regretfully we took our leavei 
The. descent to Minehead was even more adventurous 
than the climb up, one sharp precipitous turn being oaly 
manipulated with difficulty. In Minehead we found most 
excellent accommodation at the Wellington Hotel, '' run " by 
Mr. H. Westaoott (M.F.B.C), and after dinner had a moM. 
pleasant interchange of experiences, Avith him, though owing to 
structural alterations his aviaries and birds were a thing of the 
past, save a few Parrots in cages; he hope^, once the altei-a- 
tions are complete, to find aviary accommodation again. A 
Bare-eyed Cockatoo, Blue-fronted Amazon, Grey Parrot and a 
pair of Diamond Doves (great pets) comprised all the birds 
he had at present. Mos't of his collection had passed to a 
lady residing near by, to whom we paid a flying visit the next 
morning and saw an interesting series of FringiJIidar and 
I'loceidae, also many Budgerigars and Lov^ebirds. 
Our tour was now nearing its end, having only two 
more daj's to run. In good time we set out for Taunton, our 
olijective being Mr. Sprankling's, whom we had some little 
difficulty in finding. 
Mr. SrR.\NKLiNG"s Aviaries: After having refreshed our- 
selves with the lunch kindly provided for us we adjourned 
to the garden, and liegan our inspection of the main object of 
our visit— aviaries and liirds. The Aviaries consist of two 
groups which Mr. Sprankling calls the "Old Lean-to Aviary," 
and the " New Aviary "; the latter he contemplates enlarging. 
Both series have brick shelters and every care has ])een taken 
to provide the birds with adequate shelter and breeding results 
have been quite up to the average. 
Old Lean-to Aviary: This aviary, so far as my memory 
serves me, has no open flight; consisting of a range some 
18ft. long by 6ft., and about (iit. high, wiili wire netting 
fronts and divided into three sections, each about (jft. .square. 
