ON CAGES AND AVIAKIES. 
13 
Overcrowding is a frequent cause of disease and death ; and 
even when an aviary is not too crowded for health, all chance of 
breeding is precluded by the frequent disputes or ofBciousness of the 
too numerous inhabitants ; this, indeed, has been the chief reason 
why I have bred fewer birds than some aviculturists who are less 
happily provided in the matter of aviaries. A general study of cage 
birds necessitates an accumulation of material which renders 
breeding difficult. 
One of our most successful breeders of foreign birds not only 
owned (and probably still owns) many very large aviaries, but 
limited each of these to two pairs of birds — one pair of ground birds 
and one of flying birds ; for him to have failed would have been 
practically impossible. I believe I have correctly recorded the facts 
as he gave them to me. We cannot, most of us, afford such 
liberality, but I hope one of these days so to reduce my stock that 
my breeding experiences will become more satisfactory. 
There are some birds which breed as well (or perhaps even 
better) in crowds, as they do when kept separate ; as, for instance, 
Zebra Finches, Java Sparrows, and Budgerigars ; only, in the case 
of Java Sparrows the crowds must not consist of the same species, 
whereas in the other two cases cited they must. 
But I am wandering from cage and aviary to matters with which 
I intend to deal more fully later ; therefore, having considered the 
general type of cage and aviary which are most healthful — the box 
type — and the need for not overcrowding the same, 1 must draw 
attention to the importance of good sharp sand to assist digestion. 
For this purpose there is nothing equal to the sea sand frequently 
used by builders as sharp sand for concrete work. 
If you go to a builder and ask him if he uses sea sand he will 
probably deny it ; he always thoroughly washes it to get rid of the 
salt before using it. If you purchase “ sharp sand ” from a builder 
you will get it with the salt in it (which is just what you require), 
and all you need do is to sift out the coarser shingle for your 
larger birds, or fowls if you keep them. 
The late Mr. Abrahams many years since said to me, “ Never use 
anything for your birds but sea sand with the salt in it. On no 
account use shell sand, which is a constant source of danger to the 
life of birds, owing to the broken shells which it contains ; the frag- 
ments cut through the crop like bits of glass, letting out the contents 
among the muscles of the neck or out of the front. Red sand often 
contains clay and little solid grit ; sea sand is the easiest to obtain, 
the cheapest, and the most wholesome.” I have strictly followed 
this advice and proved its truth. 
Another matter of moment is the character of the perches. In 
cages these should never be too small for the bird to get a good grasp 
of. Too small a perch cramps the foot and strains the sinews ; if 
the claws are sharp it may even be the means of scratching the toes 
with which they are thus bronght into forcible contact ; then dirt 
gets into the wound, the toe decays and drops off, and the bird is 
