PARROT. 
427 
into their bill, which makes them very sick and 
faint, and renders them gentle and pliant. If they 
grow mutinous again, the dose is repeated, and 
thus in a little time their dispositions are softened. 
This severe discipline is highly necessary to correct 
their envenomed temper; for they bite most cruelly 
without provocation, and can hardly be made to quit 
their hold. However, the tobacco smoke seems to 
be a sovereign remedy, and is always produced upon 
these occasions. 
The feathers of these birds, as well as their bodies, 
are an article of traffic among the savages. They 
claim a certain number of trees on which the par- 
rots make their nests. This is a kind of property, 
from which they derive an income by selling the 
birds and bartering their feathers. These trees de- 
scend from father to son, and are often their richest 
inheritance. 
Th is climate is too cold for the parrot’s warm con- 
stitution ; for, although he bears our winter, and 
will live with us a considerable time, yet he always 
seems sensible of its rigour, and will frequently 
creep near the fire, and appear perfectly sensible of 
the comfort which he derives from the heat. He 
has been known to live in this country more 
than thirty years, and frequently will reach to 
fifteen or twenty years if properly taken care of. 
Indeed we have little to complain of on this head, 
as too much time is often trifled away in instructing 
an animal which at best can only be made to mock 
its mistress. 
