134 
Birds and Flowers. 
and squeezed is a very fair food for most, espe- 
cially if you also give a little hard egg chopped up, 
and a little milk poured on the bread. The food 
must be always quite fresh. The birds should be 
fed at least every two hours from daybreak to 
sunset. And they ought to be kept very warm 
and snug, though they must have air. As the 
nestlings grow they will begin to eat bruised 
hemp-seeds, and other seeds, which may be 
strewed about on the floor of the cage at first. 
If, however, the old birds are to rear a young one 
or two for you, you should put the little nestlings 
in a warm nest in a cage, fastening the door open 
and hanging the cage near the nest, or if that was 
destroyed by any accident, near the place where it 
was. 
You must close the door of course before the 
little birds are strong enough to fly. The cage 
must be of some dark colour and it ought to have 
nothing shining at all about it. The old birds will 
then often go quite happily in and out, feeding 
their own children ; and if you also make occa- 
sional visits, as I dare say you will do, carrying 
food also, the little birds in the cage will soon be 
very tame. They will learn a great many clever 
tricks, and what is more, will seem to enjoy learn- 
