T1IE REDSTART. 
“ Nearly fill a gallon jar with wheat-bran, barley, or oatmeal, 
sugar paper, and bits of old leather. Put into the jar a pint 
of mealworms, tie a woollen cloth over the mouth of the jar, 
and let it stand for three months. The cloth must be occasion- i 
ally wetted with beer. Tlie mealworms propagate very rapidly, j 
and at the end of the time specified, your pint of mealworms 
will have increased to half a gallon.” 
A little crushed hemp-seed will do the blackcap no harm, , 
and, during the summer, he should never be without a morsel j 
of sweet ripe fruit between the bars of his cage. Nothing j 
comes amiss to it, currants, raspberries, cherries (without the j 
stones), or ripe apples. Of course, in giving him fruit, you ; 
must observe moderation. In the summer take the precaution 
to spread out some ripe elderberries in the sun to dry. If in the ; 
winter you soak a few of these in water for a few minutes and j 
give them him, he will devour them with wonderful relish. He j 
is very docile, and may be easily taught to eat from the hand. 
Speaking of this, a celebrated naturalist says : — “ A young male j 
which I had put into the hot-house for the winter, was accus- j 
tomed to receive from my hand a mealworm y this took place 
so regularly, that immediately on my arrival he placed himself ! 
near the little jar where the worms were kept. If I pretended 
not to notice this signal, he would take flight, and passing close 
under my nose, resume his post ; and this he repeated, some- 
times even striking me with his wing, till I satisfied his wishes 
and his impatience.” j 
Diseases oe the Blackcap, and how to Cure them. — Con- i 
sumption is the chief malady by which the blackcap is attacked. 
To cure this, extra attention must be paid to the bird’s com- 
fort. He must be kept very warm, or rather he must be 
preserved from sudden alternations of heat and cold. If he 
require a purgative give him a spider. Let his diet consist 
chiefly of mealworms, ants’ eggs, and hemp-seed, and put a 
rusty iron nail in his drinking water. Bechstein appears to 
think that there is no better cure for consumptive birds than a 
plentiful supply of watercresses. I never had an opportunity 
of observing the effects of the plant so administered, but I ; 
know no reason why it should not be beneficial. 
The blackcap is liable to almost every ailment that affects 
the nightingale, and I can give you no better advice than to 
follow the directions already furnished as regards the latter bird. 
The Redstart. — The dazzling plumage of this bird alone 
would recommend it to special notice. However, besides a 
si 
