328 Dr. M. Amsler—Labour Saving in the Aviary


On the lower shelf are the water-can, and a big tin containing

the Pheasants 5 mixed corn. Two most useful adjuncts are a flat spade¬

shaped scraper which can be used instead of a spoon for serving out

the soft food, and for the usual scraping and cleaning, and also a

little mop on a handle—lately presented to me by my wife—price 2 d.,

I believe. This is most useful for swabbing out the water vessels

before replenishing and now the mornings are getting chilly all

those who suffer from cold hands will find this a great boon after

having experienced the chilly effects of using an ordinary sponge in

frosty weather.


We have of late read a good deal about Pheasants and have been

encouraged to keep them in aviaries containing small birds. I do

so myself and am very fond of Pheasants, but a note of warning should,

I think, be sounded.


Pheasants are very intelligent or cunning and wherever you put

food for the smaller birds they very soon find it.


As one cannot afford to feed such birds on spray millet—or soft

food, costing 2s. a pound, some means must be devised to frustrate

them. I had thought of having a frame with 3 in. wire mesh to cover

the shelves carrying the small bird’s food and made a rough experi¬

mental model, but it was no use, as the Pheasants clambered up and

poked their heads through the netting—any smaller mesh would have

excluded medium-sized birds such as Doves, Thrushes, and Starlings.


I have now completely circumvented my Pheasants again with

an arrangement resembling a cake tray. Mine are made of wood and

consist of four little platforms about 9 inches square, one above the

other, and suspended by a wire from the aviary shed roof—the idea

is not original, for many of the aviary appliance manufacturers supply

a similar contrivance, the frame being made of strong wire with two

or more shelves which carry the earthenware seed pans.


Some softbills are dreadfully wasteful with their food. Shamas,

in my experience, are the worst offenders. This can be remedied to

a large extent by fitting a tin or zinc lid to the soft- food receptacle.

I use a glass tongue dish about 4 inches in diameter, and the zinc

cover has a circular hole, some 2 inches across. One thus has a flange

1 inch wide which prevents the food being thrown out. Apart from



