David Seth-Smith—The Keeton Foreign Bird Farm 365


successful with the rarer species of Parrakeets, and only dispose of

those actually bred on the farm.


The farm is situated on a sloping hillside facing south, and sheltered

from the north by a wood. Aviaries for the Parrakeets are arranged

in rows on terraces. There are forty-six of these, and there is sufficient

space to allow of each one being moved, backwards or forwards, so

that the same ground is not occupied two years running. At first sight

some of these aviaries strike one as being on the small side, but



Some of the Parrakeet Aviaries at Keston.



experience has shown that they are just the right size for their purpose,

neither too small or too large, and the proof that they are right is

shown by the number of first-rate young birds that are reared in them.

They are made secure from rats by having small-mesh wire netting

floors, and a great point is that human beings do not enter, the birds

being attended to from the outside and so are never frightened.


The list of birds bred this season is an imposing one ; it consists



