50 
HINTS ON CAGE-BIRDS. 
bound, over the broken limb; but I always think amputation pre- 
ferable for a compound fracture. A broken wing is difficult to 
bind up ; it requires a special brace, and even then may slip out 
of place ; therefore, I always leave it to unite of itself and risk a 
drooping wing. For all tumours and cancerous growths, it is 
best that the aviculturist should consult a veterinary surgeon, 
unless he himself possesses some surgical skill. 
CHAPTER IX. 
ON BIRD SHOWS, SEASONAL CHANGES, AND NEST-BUILD INO. 
When one keeps birds it is for some definite reason. Frequently 
the only objects which the aviculturist has in view are a longing 
for occupation, a hobby with which to pass away leisure hours, and 
a love for the beauties of Nature. Some satisfy this craving by 
devoting themselves to horticulture, others to aviculture, still more 
to that section of bird-study known as “ the Fancy.” The term 
“fancier” is applicable only to the man who confines his attention 
to those variations and freaks which man has developed from a few 
forms of animal life, which, from their great liability to vary, have 
enabled him to mould them, by careful selection, into almost every 
imaginable shape. On the other hand, the term “ aviculturist,” 
meaning one who has the care of birds, although in its wider sense 
it might be applied to the poultry, pigeon, or canaiy fancier, has 
come by usage to mean one who has the care of birds as species, 
not of variations, produced by man’s agency. When we speak of 
an “ aviculturist,” therefore, we do not mean a “ fancier.” 
Among aviculturists the nearest approach to a fancier is the 
man who only koeps his birds for show purposes, a mild form of 
gambler, who, through he may not desire to make a big profit by 
the business, nevertheless hopes to cover at least a part of his 
expenses. I feel some sympathy with men who send some of 
their birds for exhibition, but none with those who only keep them 
for that purpose. In the latter class (though not of necessity) you 
find those who attempt to increase the brilliancy of their birds by 
dyeing them with colour-feed, who pluck out a feather here and 
there to produce a better show specimen, or perhaps, having been 
successful, adopt a certain type of cage, so that they may be 
recognised as the owner's on the show bench. I have heard all these 
tricks defended, but to me they are inexcusable. 
I am often asked, “ Flow shall I prepare my birds for the show 
bench ? ” I have one answer : “ Keep them clean and in good 
