thirdly, by removing the seed-hopper these cages can be used as show-cages, but when so intended I recommend a width of 6in. only, as birds do not look nearly so well in a broad cage as they do in a narrow one. These cages can be made entirely of deal and painted, or stained and varnished, or with hard wood fronts, polished or varnished; mahogany and walnut look best, to our taste. TRAVELLING-CAGES.-The travelling-cage shown in Fig. 19 is suitable for despatching birds a long distance. The door is at the back of the cage, hung on small brass hinges, and secured by a hook or button. A perch should be fixed the full length of the cage, 2in. from the bottom and an equal distance from the front and back. Wires must be bent or two round holes made to allow the birds to get at the water-tins, which should be hung in front of these apertures. A piece of flannel or thin canvas ought to be tacked on to the front and over the door, pieces being cut out opposite the water holes. Any railway servant would give them a drink of water during a long journey. Seed should be thrown on the floor of the cage together with a piece of breadcrust, soaked in cold water and broken into small pieces; a bit of sweet apple may also be put in the cage. It is a good plan to let in a piece of glass at one end, and fasten over this a piece of perforated zine to prevent it from getting broken, as by this means the birds can see to feed during a long journey. To accommodate four birds the dimensions would be correspondingly less, say 11in. by 7in. and 8in., and for two birds only 9in. by 7in. and 7in., or for one 7in. by 7in. and 6in. wide. It is necessary in sending valuable birds a long FIG. 19. TRAVELLING-CAGE TO ACCOMMODATE SIX BIRDS, to be sent any distance. distance to allow plenty of space to prevent them from getting cramped or damaged in plumage. For short distances an ordinary wooden box, with in. holes bored at each side and a perch placed in the centre, would suffice. CAGES FOR SINGING BIRDS. Those best suited for canaries and mules are neat wire cages, with wood bottoms, oblong in form, with arched roofs, waggon shaped; they should have a draw board, a seed-hopper, and a glass drinking-trough-those made of brass wire are very objectionable, for, when they get wet, as they are sure to do every time the bird washes itself, verdigris is produced, and it is a deadly poison. I do not like those fancy painted cages either: the paint is baked on, and the birds can peck it off quite easily, which they invariably do, and disaster follows. FLIGHT-CAGES.-Where a fancier breeds young canaries by the hundred he is obliged to have recourse to temporary places of abode for them, to save him not only the expense of a large outlay for cages, but a great deal of labour in feeding and watering the birds. If you have a good deep recess at the side of a chimney in your bird-room, you can easily put a few shelves across it, about four feet apart, a few wood uprights and cross-bars, and wire it; but the better plan is to make a solid framed front to each compartment; this can be hung with hinges or fastened on with small screws or metal "buttons," the same as are used for closet doors, but smaller; if you desire to be very economical, or are wishful to save yourself much labour, you can cover the front with half-inch diamondshaped wire-work, which you can buy in the piece at any professional wire-worker's-use the galvanised, which will last for a number of years. I have a fly made in one corner of one of my bird-rooms; it is placed 4ft. from the floor, and extends in height to the ceiling, which forms the top, the wall forms the back and one end, the other end extends from the ceiling to the floor, and is part wood and part glass; the wood-work is about five-and-a-half feet from the floor of the room. I have a hole cut in it Sin. deep, framed round and wired like a cage front: upon this I hang two troughs made of zinc with glass fronts; they hold about three half-pints of water each. The front is formed of glass frames, being part of a glass case such as chemists use; the centre frame is hung with hinges and forms a door, and is fastened with a brass button; this framework rests upon a stout lath 24in. wide and 1in. in thickness; below this are two deals 6in. in depth, hinged at the top, and each extends half of the whole length of the fly-they lift up to enable me to clean it out, which I can do with a small iron rake. I give them water At to bathe in through one or other of these apertures. the other end I have a large drawer which holds 7lb. of seed; this is covered with a fixed wood frame inside with a sloping top and a wired front; it is 12in. deep at the back and 9in. in front. This is to allow the light to penetrate inside, and to enable the birds to see their food; the perches, with the exception of the one to feed from and the other to reach their drinking water readily, are all placed at different distances and various heights, care being taken not to have one above the other, or in such a way that the birds would be likely to foul each other. It is lime-washed out, and the perches are made to "ship" and unship" at pleasure. It accommodates forty birds, and I generally place those in it that I intend to dispose of. If they fight, as they often do about Christmas, I darken the apartment, which has the effect of restoring order. BEADS FOR CAGE-DOORS.-In Norwich I observed that most fanciers, including the Mackleys, have their cage-doors some distance from the cross-pieces, both top and bottom, and this they manage to do by putting in two large glass beads, placed on the wire that the door works on, in opening and closing it. This is to prevent parasites from congregating there. AVIARIES.-The illustrations, Figs. 20 and 22 are representations of outdoor aviaries. That shown in Fig. 22 may be placed on a lawn or in some convenient situation in a garden or pleasure-ground. It can be made to any dimen sions required. The aviary shown in Fig. 20 should be erected against a wall in a sheltered situation, and with a south or southwesterly aspect, and should be constructed with an inner and an outer compartment, as shown. A friend of mine has one which answers the purpose admirably. It is about fifteen feet in length, and about seven feet in width. It is constructed of wood and wire, in the form of a "lean-to." A wall some seven or eight feet in height forms the back. At one end is a sort of small room, forming the |