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SONG-BIRDS. 
who had a sick poodle in her arms, said to me, " I 
have no children, and so I tend and care for these 
small dogs,” for they are all of the same diminu- 
tive breed. It is a singular fact, but they thrive 
best upon hard dried salmon, which is carefully 
scraped for them by their kind mistress. There 
were more than forty dogs in her keeping, and she 
informed me that last year she lost thii’ty at one 
time from influenza. 
The song birds in the shop are also very pretty, 
as are the nuthatches, which are kept in very tall 
cages, vith an upright stick in the middle, at the 
top of which is a cross-piece with a notch, in which 
the bird places the nut or berry, which he hews 
with his pick-like bill till he gets at the kernel. 
Instead of the more yielding fruit of the yew, 
which is the usual food of the nuthatch of Japan, 
at one time I substituted hard hazel-nuts. As the 
bird was unable to crack these, he placed them one 
by one in his water-glass, evidently with the notion 
that they would in time become softer — an interest- 
ing proof of intelligence on the part of these birds. . 
