A Champion 
Exhibitor. 
THE BIRD WORLD. 
(4°) 
worth a great deal to professional and amateur 
alike. The mixture for insectivorous birds he 
makes as follows :—Ants’ eggs (best quality 
only, fresh in season), dried flies, and Osborne 
biscuit (ground to powder), in equal parts, mixed 
crumbly moist with finely-chopped lettuce (note 
Mr. Maxwell uses lettuce all the year round); 
add to above a little finely-chopped cream cheese. 
Mr. Maxwell is a great advocate for the latter 
ingredient, which he has constantly used for 
the last eight years. It will be noticed in the 
above recipe that no mention is made of egg, 
fresh or otherwise. Mr. Maxwell has dis¬ 
carded it for some time past, and does not re¬ 
gret doing so. To the above diet he adds such 
live insects as are usually procurable, the chief 
being mealworms; fruits such as bananas and 
ripe pears to those species which partake of it, 
and in the moulting season colour food to such 
as are undoubtedly improved by its use. For 
the finches a mixture of hemp, teazle, linseed, 
niga and canary, the two former in the largest 
proportion for the Goldfinches; thistle and dan¬ 
delion seeds are given occasionally as a treat. 
The Linnets, etc., have a larger proportion of 
canary and also a little German rape added. 
The Hawfinches revel in a portion of white 
sunflower seed, while green peas in season are 
an extra bonne bouche. Many of the Finches 
appreciate mealworms as much as the insec¬ 
tivorous birds. 
THE ILLUSTRATIONS. 
And now to our pictures. Figs, i and 2 
give the full extent of the left and right-hand 
exterior views of the Crows’ Aviary, kennels, 
bird-house, and Finches’ aviary, with the fowls’ 
enclosure in the foreground; Fig. 3 gives ' a 
larger picture of the Finches’ aviary, together 
with an excellent portrait of its owner; from 
Range of Cages in Mr. Maxwell’s Bird-room, 
Figs. 4 and 5 we gain some idea of the ship¬ 
shape order in which the interior of the bird- 
house is kept. Take note that Cage Birds oc¬ 
cupies an important position therein. With 
regard to the honours won, Mr. Maxwell 
holds that much - coveted trophy, the 
Dewar (,£15 15s.) Challenge Shield, won 
outright by him in the years 1902-3-4, 
and, of course, now his own property. The medal¬ 
lions round the rim are engraved with the for¬ 
mer winners:—1898-9, Mr. Fulljames; 1900, 
Mr. E. M. Hardy; 1901, Mr. D. M. Thomas. 
He has besides some 45 medals, 10 be¬ 
ing gold (of which 6 are from the N.B.B. & M.C. 
Interior of Mr. Maxwell’s Bird-room. 
and 4 from the L. & P.O.S.), 30 silver and 5 
bronze. Over and above the medals are 4 silver 
cups and 2 silver challenge bowls, all of which 
have had to be won more than once, some for 
“ best birds ” and others for “ points.” 
In addition to these Mr. Maxwell has won 
for the first and only time they have been in 
competition the two handsome ^5 5s. silver 
challenge cups of the N.B.B. & M.C., one for 
most points in hardbills, and the other for 
ditto in softbills. I asked Mr. Maxwell ho\V 
many prizes he had won, but it was a question 
he could not answer, as he has not kept a diary, 
but many hundreds have, to' my knowledge, 
been gained through his skill and enterprise at 
the Crystal Palace, Alexandra Palace, Royal 
Aquarium, Balham, South Metropolitan, and 
many other London suburban shows, in the 
largest and keenest competition in the world. 
When I say that Mr. Maxwell has at one time' 
made 60 entries at one show, it will be seen that 
he has been an unusually large exhibitor, and 
as proof of his success I may say that his special 
prizes won (not, of course, including the money 
prizes), run well into the value of three figures, 
his cheque from one show alone having 
amounted to as much as ^17. 
THE FANCIER’S REWARD. 
Though I have mentioned the monetary point 
of view, it must not be thought for one moment 
that it influences our friend in the slightest de¬ 
gree. Much as he has spent, both in time and 
money, on his hobby, the only recompense he 
desires is the pleasure he gets from tending to 
his birds. As an exhibitor, he naturally likes 
to excel, but in common with all good sports¬ 
men, he knows when he is beaten, and sets to 
work to go one better than his opponent at the 
next opportunity. 
