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Birds and Flowers. 
the birds a little old mortar mixed with their sand r 
(oyster-shells baked in the fire will do,) and let 
them also have a little moss or poppy-seed. Most 
people give them also hard boiled egg chopped 
fine, shell and all. 
The building requisites are moss, and hair, and 
wool, and if you watch your birds you will soon 
know what stuff and colour they prefer, which you 
must then supply them with, hanging it in a small 
bag against the wires, outside the cage. If you let 
the bag be inside the cage it is very possible that 
the birds may tug it up to the place where they wish 
to build — possibly into the seed-tin, and there, 
jumping on it, will try to scoop out a hole ! It is a 
very pretty sight to see the little things building. 
The hen will get into the nest and twist herself 
round and round, moulding it with her breast, and 
tucking in her head, arranging every fibre, and her 
mate will bring up large bundles of materials, and 
stand as if admiring while she disposes of them. 
The nest is built very quickly ; I have known 
an industrious pair do the whole work in a day, 
and then very often the hen is so pleased that she 
goes and sleeps in it. In a few days generally the 
first egg is laid — a little pale green-blue one — and 
some birds begin to sit at once, others wait two or 
