THE BLACKBIRD. 
parts into the tnne 'that he had never heard before ; so, after 
listening awhile, he began hissing, flattering his wings, and 
otherwise signifying his distaste of the entire performance. 
Much surprised, the gentleman left off playing, and then the 
blackbird opened his throat, and favoured his new master with 
his version of “ Polly Hopkins,” nor would he ever listen with 
any patience to any other version. 
This same blackbird, after staying in the service of ‘the 
above-mentioned gentleman for two years, was adopted by a 
serious family, where “ Polly Hopkins ” and all such profanity 
were sedulously avoided. Whenever poor “ Joe ” (the black- 
bird’s name) attempted to strike up the old tune, a cloth was 
thrown over his cage, and he was silenced. The family con- 
sisted of an old lady and her two daughters, and every 
night, at seven o’clock, prayers were read and the “ Evening 
Hymn ” sung, and Joe, who was an obedient bird, and 
anxious to conform to the habits of the house, speedily 
learnt the tune, and regularly whistled it while the old lady 
and her daughters sang it. This went on for six or seven 
years, when the mother died, and the daughters separated, 
and Joe, now an aged blackbird, fell into new hands ; but to 
his dying day he never gave up the 44 Evening Hymn.” Punc- 
tually as the clock struck seven he tuned up, and went straight 
through with it with the gravity of a parish clerk. 
The polylogistic powers of the blackbird are such that it can 
imitate almost every inhabitant of a farmyard, — the gobble of 
the turkey, the crowing of the dunghill cock, and the “ cluck ” 
of the hen to her chicks. Some naturalists even go so far as 
to assert that it may be taught to utter words ; but it would 
require the evidence of my own ears to induce me to give 
credence to the assertion. 
The Blackbird’s Cage. — The best sort of cage for the 
blackbird is the round wicker one 
with the dome top. He does not 
require a perch. The cage should 
at all times be kept scrupulously 
clean, especially in the winter 
months, when he is to be kept in 
the house. Becollect he is a large 
bird, and if at all neglected his 
cage will smell offensively. Ho 
bird is more fond of bathing than 
the blackbird; therefore, let him 
THE BLACKBIRD’S CAGE. 
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