A. C. Ftimer—Failures and Successes in a Member's Aviary 355


One of the most interesting appliances we saw was a row of perhaps

thirty pens about 1 yard square each. They are made of concrete

slabs with an iron grill at two sides and they are at the top of a cutting

along the path on a level with the eyes. They were heavily sanded

and each contained a rare Pheasant chick of perhaps two months of

age, and Professor Ghigi said how successful these coops were for

conditioning each chick in solitary confinement before liberation to

the breeding pen. This appeared to the writer to be an excellent

method, for when young Pheasants are crowded together the weaker

invariably deteriorate. We noticed in these pens Imperial and

Edward’s chicks and others. It is remarkable how similar Imperials

and Edward’s hens are in their first year—indeed, Professor Ghigi

had himself great difficulty in saying which was an Imperial chick and

which Edward’s.


Alas, we must be off ! “ But it is only 5 o’clock,” says Professor

Ghigi. We are sorry to differ, but his watch has stopped and it is nearly

6 o’clock and our train leaves for Florence at 6.15. We are driven with

Professor Ghigi to the station and thus ends a most enjoyable and

instructive afternoon, and we must, indeed, thank our host for the

exceedingly kind way in which he has entertained us.



THIS YEAR’S FAILURES AND SUCCESSES IN

A DERBY MEMBER’S AVIARY


By A. C. Furner


Once again I am making what seems an almost hopeless endeavour

to induce Members who keep the ordinary aviary birds to write for us,

by informing you of the results of my season’s successes and failures.


I only aspire to two classes of birds, one class which are generally

known as “ the easy to breed varieties ”, and the other “ the very

tame—-never been aviary-bred varieties ”.


All the first class are kept in outside aviaries, whereas the second

lot are purely pets and are kept in large cages in my bird-room, and



