DISEASES OE THE SISKIN. 
organs are very powerful, you need not soak), mixed with, 
canary, — three parts of the latter with one of the former. 
Hemp- seed (the bane of most songsters) will, if given hi mode- 
j ration, do him no harm. A little mace or poppy- seed occa- 
sionally will agree with him. The siskin requires plenty of 
water. He is as hearty a drinker as he is an eater, and par- 
ticularly cleanly in his habits. It is seldom that he will get 
into his bath, preferring to fill his mouth and syringe his fea- 
thers from his beak. It is curious to watch the little fellow 
1 after he has washed, combing and brushing and arranging 
his plumage. 
Diseases of the Siskin. — Diarrhoea is one of the few diseases 
which attack the siskin ; you may know it by the bird’s con- 
stantly voiding a white tenacious matter that adheres to the 
tail feathers, and inflames the surrounding parts. To cure 
this, put a rusty nail in his water, and a small lump of chalk 
between the wires of his cage. Or you may mix bruised rice 
with a little sifted chalk, and put the mixture in his seed trough. 
If he should get so bad that you fear he will die, well rub his 
belly with oil of sweet almonds, and immerse him up to the 
shoulders in a tolerably hot bath. If he gets better put a little 
cochineal in his water every morning for a week. 
Epilepsy, arising from the bird’s greedy habits, will some- 
i times attack him. He will fall to the bottom of the cage, with 
his mouth agape, and He as if dead. Pull out one of his tail 
feathers, and immerse him suddenly in cold water. This will 
revive him ; then pour into his open mouth five or six drops 
of sherry, and if he means to recover at all he will be all right 
again in a few minutes. If you find that your bird is subject 
to these fits, always keep a little spirits of nitre in his water. 
If this bird or any other of your songsters should have the 
misfortune to fracture a limb, the best thing you can do is — to 
leave it alone. Take out the perches and make a nice soft bed 
of wool or wadding over the bottom of the cage. Take care 
that his food and water are within eg,sy reach (be sure that his 
food is of the simplest), and leave the rest to nature. 
The Hawfinch. — This is the largest of the finch family, 
and is peculiar to the southern parts of Britain. It has a very 
large and strong bill, shaped like that of the greenfinch, to 
which, indeed, except as regards marking of plumage, it bears 
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