SIZE AND FORM, ETC.

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min, as deal and other soft woods do; and these, too, require painting to make them look well, which is always objectionable. If a cage must be painted, however, great care should be taken that it is perfectly dry, and the scent gone off, before it is inhabited, as nothing would be more likely to act as a poison upon the delicate organisation of a bird than the effluvia from fresh paint. A mahogany frame, then, of a square or oblong form, made in some tasteful pattern, with wirework front and sides, is the best; not brass wire nor copper, as with these metals any corrosion from moisture will form verdigris, a deadly poison. It should not be less than a foot in length, depth, and height; if eighteen inches or two feet so much the better, even for the smallest bird the back should be solid to hang or stand against the wall, and in this should be a door sufficiently large for the hand to pass for the performance of cleansing and other necessary operations. There should be a false bottom, which can be drawn out and washed occasionally, care being taken that it is thoroughly dry before it is put in again; over this should be sprinkled fine dry sand, such as may be bought at any shop where bird seed and articles of the kind are sold. It is not well to have too many perches in a cage; two are generally sufficient, one about two inches from the floor, and the other about eight; they may run either from side to side, or from front to back, but in either case let them be so placed that the bird would not have to hop straight up or down from one to the other. For water, the glass fountains to hang outside, with a hole in the side large enough for the admission of the bird's head, are best. For the seed, nothing is better than a little box fitted into one corner, with an aperture in the top for the insertion of the bill. With an open box or trough a great deal is scattered and wasted. If the cage is meant to hang out of doors, the front only should be open wirework, as in this climate, in most states of the atmosphere, the bird requires shelter. Our heart has often ached to see some sweet songster, in an open cage, hung on a nail in the front of a house, with a keen east wind blowing through its ruffled plumes, and chilling its tender frame, or a drizzling rain wetting it to the bone, or

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a hot sun scorching up its very marrow, without the possibility of the poor victim to man's love of feathered pets finding shelter in any corner of its very airy prison. The wild bird may be subjected to all these atmospheric influences without detriment to its health and enjoyment; but then it can flit from sunshine to shade, and from shade to sunshine, as its feelings and inclinations prompt; and, moreover, by the free use of its wings, which the captive bird has not, it quickens the circulation of the blood, and keeps up that healthful warmth in the frame which is the natural result of exercise. People do not think of this, and wonder why a bird in a cage should not be able to bear the changes of the weather as well as one in the woods and fields. They forget, too, what is generally the case, that the confined bird has been bred and reared in an artificial manner. Let the cage, then, have in it snug corners for shelter; do not place it in the open air when the weather is cold or inclement; and when it is so placed, let it be taken in before the chills and damps of night come on. At night, even indoors, it is best to cover the open part with a curtain, unless the weather should be very sultry. The bird will then take its natural rest in warmth and comfort, without being disturbed by any lights, noises, or movements about it.

Of late metal cages have come much into use, and very light and pretty things some of them are; but we question if a bird is so comfortable in one of these as in a properly constructed wooden cage; they have the advantage of cleanliness and freedom from vermin; they are elegant, many of them extremely so; they are portable, and may be moved from place to place easily; and, provided the perches and false bottom be of wood. for metal is too cold for the bird's claws to rest —we see no particular disadvantage in their use. are not at all partial to those fantastic structures which resemble miniature churches and castles and villas, with rockwork and clockwork, and cascades and rills, and moving figures, amid which the bird, the only natural thing, seems out of place. But we do like a tasteful combination of glass and metal wrought into some elegant form, in which the beauty

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of artistic design has been made subservient to the comfort and convenience of the feathered inmate. And such cages are not difficult to obtain. We hope, ere long, to see a great improvement effected in the construction of cages by the employment of a new material therein, viz. paper, which we doubt not will now be employed for a variety of yet unthought of purposes. What so light, so capable of being wrought into ornamental shapes as papier-maché? and what so tough and endurable? Yes, we must have paper bird cages, as well as paper collars and drainpipes; and why not paper tables to stand them on, and paper chairs to sit in, and listen to the warbling of the feathered inmates of the paper palaces, rich with gorgeous colours, gilding, and inlaid work of flowers and shells, and all the fairest things which art produces in imitation of nature.

We have spoken of cages in general, let us now particularise and state what cages are most suitable for certain birds, and under special circumstances. And first

THE CANARY CAGE,

Which will also do for any of the Finches- should be always pretty and ornamental, as the birds are; if not combinations of glass and metal, they should have a frame of mahogany, with wire work wrought into various patterns, and surmounted with brass finials, of an urn or acornlike shape; the top, instead of being flat, or a plain dome, may be of various elevations, like two or three distinct roofs in a building, as in the subjoined examples (6 and 7).

The pretty round metal cages, made to hang up in the centre of a window, do very well for birds of this description, as they do also for Linnets and some Larkɛ, but not the Skylark. The common size will hold a pair of birds, but not more; Canaries, however, generally sing best when kept singly, and one of these birds may find a very pretty and comfortable home in the fancy cage (No. 1).