19 February 1881 - Answers to Correspondents - Miscellaneous

RIGGY - Your writing is very ugly.

QUEEN OF DAISIES - After so kind and appreciative a letter, it would be indeed difficult to find fault. Your writing is excellent, but beware of flourishes, and use better ink.

JANE W - 1. You are not feeding your parrot properly, that is the cause of her indisposition. The soaked bread is all right so long as you give it in a clean dish and fresh every morning. Stop the hemp and stop the bones. You may give canary and millet seed, however, and nuts, and crusts, and an occasional cayenne pepper pod. This last is considered a great dainty by a parrot. 2. Handwriting fair, but may be greatly improved. You must try to write without ruling your paper.

LITTLE NELL - Your health is undoubtedly delicate. At your age (22) you should not feel worn out and tired by eight o'clock at night; nor should you have those tell-tale dark rings around your eyes. We are sure you would feel benefitted by a course of citrate of iron and quinine; cod-liver oil would also benefit you. But you must live very regularly, and be all you can in the fresh air. Change, too, would do you good. You may write again, and we will be happy if our advice has benefitted you.

NELLIE - Red and yellow are both considered appropriate to brunettes.

FANNY - We believe that many ladies use them in riding, but we hope you will remember a very little spur will go a long way, and avoid cruelty.

BLACK-EYED SUSAN - We should advise your consulting a doctor. Your writing is legible.

LADY MARY W - Birds are often killed by the frost in wintry weather. Take a half-dead bird up and placing it near the fire as you have done, would only make matters worse. If you want to show mercy to poor birds, place them in a quiet room or garret, and feed on crumbs, letting them free whenever they wish to go, for *old wild birds can hardly be tamed.

LADY CLARICE - We quote  for the benefit of our hysterical correspondent, from a first-class medical work recently published - "If a girl wishes to have a hysterical fit, by all means let her have it. Conduct her to an empty room, place her on the floor, and let her have a fit quietly by herself. Mothers ought to instil into their daughters habits of self-discipline and control, and also take care that they have plenty of occupation and out-of-door exercise."

12 February 1881 - 'How to Rear Fowls' by P.A.L.M.

Poultry-keeping is both an interesting and profitable occupation. If girls only knew what pleasure it would give them, more would pursue it. Remember, however, that it is not a thing to be done by fits and starts. Poultry requires constant care; no arduous work, but regular daily thought and attention. My present paper shall only treat the subject as applicable to the keeping of a limited number of fowls, as can be practically done by any young lady.

Poultry-farming becomes, of course, a matter of capital and interest; while prize poultry-keeping is generally a hobby, very often lucrative, but depending very much on the success your fowls have at shows. It is not by any means to be discouraged, only fowls intended for exhibition require different treatment from those kept merely for household use. If you are successful in taking prizes, and can commend a high price for setting eggs - for instance, from ten shillings to a guinea a dozen - it is a very good thing. Before, however, you can expect to succeed with prize-poultry, it is necessary to obtain a correct knowledge of the management of ordinary fowls.

Proper housing, feeding, and early batching are the three great requisites to profitable poultry-keeping, and I purpose now to say a little on each subject.

1ST. THE HEN-HOUSE.

Cleanliness, dryness, warmth, and ventilation, without draughts, are the principal essentials to the health of the fowls. A proper hen-house need not be an expensive affair. Of course, if you have ample means at your command, and wish for ornamental houses, you can have them in endless variety, but please don't consider that as part of the expense of poultry-keeping. My own houses cost a mere trifle. If there is any stone or brick outhouse which can be converted into a hen-house, nothing is better. If it is necessary to build a new one, wood is the cheapest and best material to e employed. We cannot expect all girls to become carpenters, but often they have a brother willing to help them, who would delight in a little joiner work. A house five or six feet square is quite large enough for a cock and six hens; if larger, it only increases their liability to cold in winter. The roof must be made sloping, and either covered with felt or tarred. It must be perfectly water-tight.

It is an advantage if the house can be built against a wall, especially if it be a stable wall or at the back of the kitchen fireplace. A stove inside the hen-house is not generally considered a good thing, because the fowls get heated and then when they go out are very apt to catch cold.

The roof of the hen-house may be carried on a little longer than the house, so as to form a shed under which the fowls can shelter. If, however, the house be raised from the ground about two feet, the shed can be dispensed with and the fowls shelter under the house. If space be an object, the latter plan will be found an advantage. A slide for the fowls to go in and out by must be made near the ground. A window is absolutely necessary; one part of can be covered with perforated zinc for ventilation, as pure air must be had without draughts. For the floor, Roman cement or concrete is best, but any hard substance that can be easily brushed will do. For perches, nothing answers better than a fir pole. Be particular in having them placed away from the nests.  For the larger breeds, such as Brahmas, Cochins, &c., it should not be more than a foot from the ground. Indeed, these birds very often prefer to roost on the ground on nice, clean straw. Brahmas and Cochins are so liable to foot disease owing to their heavy bodies, and this liability is often increased by their having unsuitable perches.  For the lighter breeds the perches can be placed higher, but not too high, as is frequently the case.

Boxes or little round hampers, without lids, answer capitally for nests. Hens seem to prefer laying on the ground. They must be furnished with clean straw or hay; three bricks laid at the wall, with straw between, make very good nests. Use chian or chalk nest-eggs and gather the eggs every evening.

Too much stress cannot be laid on the importance of cleanliness. The hen-house must be whitewashed with lime at least once a year. It must be thoroughly cleaned out twice a week or oftener, and the floor sprinkled with dry sand. It is a good plan to have a board placed under the perches to catch the droppings. It is so easily cleaned, and keeps the manure free from sand, &c. The manure must be carefully preserved, as it is one of the profits of poultry-keeping. For garden purposes it is equal to guano, especially for strawberries. If quite pure, the tanner gives a good price for it. In hot weather use powdered sulphur for sprinkling over the floor, nets, &c. This kills the vermin. It should also be used freely for sitting hens, but that belongs to the treatment of hatching.

The larger your run is the better; grass is preferable, but unless it can be kept very fresh and clean, it is better dispensed with, and good gravel substituted. It is excellent if the runs can be made to open into a grass park, for then the different lots of fowls can be let out by turns, but not everyone can have that advantage. Of course, if the runs be only of gravel, green food has to be supplied.

For enclosing the yards, the best thing is galvanised wire netting. Stabs must be driven into the ground at equal distances; each stab should have a spike at the top to prevent the hens alighting on them. The wire is fastened to these stabs with staples made  for the purpose. Better than stabs are iron stanchions, but of course much more expensive. The more liberty fowls have the better; they can pick up so much for themselves, and as a rule are healthier. Very few persons have this accommodation, though we meet with very successful poultry-keeping in very small space. It requires all the more care and very strict attention to cleanliness, but if well looked after will do very well.

The number of houses required depends of course on the number of fowls kept. A house could be built longer and then divided, a wire division being between each run, or a number of separate houses may be found most convenient.

THE BIRDS.

Having built your house, the next thing is to stock it, and that depends very much on the taste of the owner, and also on the nature of climate and soil. A young hen-wife should begin cautiously. Many go and buy expensive fowls and set to work with no knowledge or experience (and in poultry-keeping nothing but experience answers), and then say "poultry does not pay." No wonder; the whole thing is mismanaged; therefore, learn by experience, and, to use an old Scotch proverb, "Creep before you gang." Pure breeds are, of course, most to be admired, but many crosses lay very well. A cross between a Dorking cock and Brahma hens makes a famous table fowl. Dorkings are capital  for the table, but I do not consider them good layers; the chickens are troublesome to rear, and do not thrive well on a clay soil. Brahmas (light and dark) are good table birds, and lay well when not broody. They make excellent mothers. Cochins are very good, too, but their flesh is yellower and their bones larger.

Spanish and Hamburgs lay splendidly, the former very large eggs. Houdens, Leghorns, Crevecoeurs, Polish Game, Andalusians, and others give plenty of choice. The Scotch Grey is considered a strong, useful bird. Bantams may be kept for amusement; they are too small for table, and though they lay well, their eggs are very small. Unless in a very large poultry establishment, it is better not to keep many different kinds. For beginners a very good plan is to buy some common hens, which can be had from two shillings to half-a-crown each, and buy some settings of whatever kind may be preferred.

FEEDING.

The feeding of poultry is of the utmost importance. If in confinement they require three meals a day, and in winter, although at liberty, should have them. The first meal, to be given at daybreak in winter, and about six o'clock in summer, should consist of soft feed - small potatoes, potato and turnip peelings, apples, cabbage leaves, or any refuse of vegetables &c., boiled till very soft, and mixed into a stiff paste with thirds or barley meal, and a handful of Indian meal. This last is very fattening, and should be used sparingly for laying hens. Oatmeal makes the best feeding of all, but is generally too dear. The food should be mixed in a pail overnight, covered with a lid or cloth, and allowed to stand beside the kitchen fire, and given hot in the morning. A little pepper mixed in it in cold weather is a good thing.

Generally the cook gives the first meal, but girls should see that it is properly done; the rest of the feeding they will do themselves. The mid-day meal may consist of waste bread, steeped in water, or, better still, skimmed milk, scraps of meat from the kitchen, or a little grain. In summer they do not require much; the last meal, given shortly before they go to roost, must be grain of some sort. The reason is that the fowls require some support during the long hours of night; grain gives them that, and so produces more eggs; soft food is more easily and quickly digested, and hence is best in the morning. It is a great mistake to give grain as constant feeding, and fowls will never pay if fed entirely on it. Good oats, barley, and wheat, with buckwheat in winter, should be used; light wheat will do for a change in summer; Indian corn is too fattening. Their food is best to be varied Old ship biscuits, which may be bought at ten shillings a hundredweight, if steeped all night in boiling water, form an excellent change. A "buff," purchased for threepence or fourpence from the butcher is also a nice variety, and in winter should be got frequently, as animal food encourages laying.

Lime must be supplied, and if in confinement, green food given daily. AS there is generally a garden where fowls are kept, this is a very easy matter. Weeds, especially groundsel, do as well as anything; cabbage-leaves, lettuce, or even grass.

Lastly, but of primary importance, is a plentiful supply of good water. This is often neglected, and hence very often disease ensues. In winter it is important that it is kept free of snow or ice. Give fresh water daily, and in hot weather oftener, as it dries up so quickly If a cow is kept, the hens will likely get skim or butter milk.

There are several varieties of drinking fountains made, but a common delf trough or a large flower-pot saucer serves as well as anything. As regards the quantity of food to e given, no very definite rule can be laid down; each must use their own judgment. Hens will not lay well if over-fed. Generally about half a handful of grain for each fowl will be the right thing to give at night. Some kinds of fowls require, of course, more feeding than others.

Again, all poultry should be more highly fed during moulting, and on wet or cold days should also get rather more. The soft food is often given too soft; it should be of the consistence of dough NO more should be given than can be consumed at one meal; no food should be left lying over DO not use a feeding dish, but give the food on the ground; the fowls require the sand that gets mixed with it for digestion. There is no economy in buying cheap grain, and the size and quality of the egg depend very much on the feeding.

It has been often calculated that the cost of feeding each hen is about five shillings a year. This is, of course, lessened if there be much waste from the house that can be used. These directions refer only to adult fowls; the treatment of chickens is different, and belongs to the subject of hatching.

27 November 1880 - Answers to Correspondents - Miscellaneous

We learn from the final two letters this week that (1) humble-bragging and (2) fishing for compliments precede the era of online social networking. 

CANARIENSIS AND OTHERS - 1. Paddle away as much as you like, as it is wonderfully strengthening to the feet and ankles. 2. We are almost afraid to offer any advice as to the length of time which girls ought to pass in the water. We have frequently offered our advice at the seaside and it has invariably been rejected. Our private opinion is that twenty minutes will make a very fair average, but much depends on the constitution of the bather. When a bather of either sex finds that the finger tips become white instead of pink, it is a sign that the bath has been too long. Giddiness on coming out of the water tells the same story.

BERYL ORSMOND - 1. Make the diet of your cockatoo as simple as possible. Perhaps you have been allowing her to nibble at bones or to eat animal food. Give her a bath by all means, but don't put her in it yourself. If she needs a bath, instinct will teach her to use it. 2. You do not mention your age, so we cannot tell how much character your writing ought to have; it certainly is not too small, and it is perfectly legible, but it has a sort of character of its own, the lines slanting downwards instead of upwards, as is the usual feminine fashion. Practise writing with black-lined paper, and you will soon find yourself falling into the right way.

ZULU HAT - 1. Of course you do not "make both ends meet of your income" if on £300 per annum and you "keep three servants." One is all you ought to keep, and you should undertake the light part of the household work yourself. 2. Wreaths of grapes and a few poppies serve best as trimming for a Zulu hat.

ALPHONSIA - 1. Your handwriting is very good for your age. But don't be satisfied; make it still better. 2. Who is afraid? Why, bring common-sense to bear upon it. You should live where we do, and go upstairs at midnight to hear the owls hooting in the wood. Whenever you feel particularly nervous repeat to yourself the fourth verse of the 23rd Psalm; it is a fine cordial for all timid folk.

AN UNSOPHISTICATED CHILD OF NATURE - Kindly choose a shorter *nom de plume when next you write. Do not be uneasy about your tortoise. The little gentleman has very likely got a will of his own. Try him with cabbage or greens, but he will go off to sleep by and bye, and when summer days come, he will most assuredly make up for his long fast.

JARVIS STREET - We regret to tell you that our editorial staff is complete; and we already have close connections with Canada.

LILIAN MARY GRAHAM - Both your friends failed in good breeding. The gentleman should have taken the penny to pay  for the stamp, as he had already laid the lady under an obligation by his prompt kindness in offering it to her. But allowing that the gentleman failed in good breeding that is no excuse  for the lady's declining the stamp altogether. Finding she was not allowed to pay for it, she should have accepted it with a graceful expression of thanks  for the gift. Of the two, the lady's fault was the greater.

CLARINDA - 1. We do not know - and do not wish to know - who wrote the morbid lines which you quote. We think you had better consult your doctor for you are evidently in a very bad state. 2. Your writing is scandalous.

HAZELDYNE - Why do you say that care not for music, and yet  acknowledge that you play Bach, Beethoven, Haydn and Mozart. Your sister says that you play well and have a very good touch. WE counsel you not to be silly, for you are getting out of the dry-bones part of learning, and will be thankful, when you are older, that you are an accomplished pianist. Your writing is rather nice, and so is your sister's.

A LEFT-OUT ONE - If it is true that you are selfish, lazy, bad-tempered, plain and unaccomplished, we do not wonder that nobody cares for you, and we trust that you will always keep at a respectful distance from us. Your portrait which you enclose, however, is that of a charming young damsel.

16 October 1880 - Answers to Correspondents - Miscellaneous

LONG SHANKS  - Give your canary a little saffron in the water, as a tonic; and let him have some groundsel and plantain, not much hemp-seed, as it is apt to make the legs gouty; a little crumb of bread and canary, millet, and rape seed from the proper food. Your writing needs much improvement.

POOR FIFTEEN -  For the growing out of the shoulder-blades it will be necessary to use a back-board; and if necessary a face board too. You have been stooping too much, which is very injurious to the chest. You have made no mistake in spelling; but you do not write well, though legibly.

EMILE J. - 1. We are sorry to hear of your mother's deafness. Try the audiphone, consisting of a small piece of card held between the teeth, which throat-deafness enables persons to hear, who obtain no benefit from an ear trumpet. Borrow albums and illustrated papers for her, give her some kind of manual work to do, such as a pretty patchwork quilt, and ask her to help you. This also would probably do, and end by doing most of it herself. Or commence a picture screen, and ask her to help in cutting out and arranging the scraps. Her mind might be diverted thus, and her depression relieved. But be sure to let her think that she is helping you, and her advice and aid required. 2. It is too long to fast from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. You should consult a doctor about your digestion. Your hand, though not good, is very legible.

GYPSY - 1. If her mother do not object, a girl of 18 may wear one or two things. 2. Watches are considered to require cleaning and oiling every 18 months, or so; and should never be permitted to run down.

A CONSTANT AND ADMIRING READER - We cannot offer an opinion on the few facts you give us, and should advise you to take legal advice.

AN EQUESTRIAN - We advise you to ride on the gentleman's right side, because, as he is your protector, his right hand is free to assist you in case of need, while the left controls his own horse.

YOLANDE - We do not quite understand your question. If you are offered any refreshment, and like to take it, do so. There is no other acknowledgment needed but "thank you," or "I am obliged to you."

PEPITA - If the mourning be for one of the heads of a house, the servants should have two dresses each, a print, and a Coburg. Your writing is fairly good.

FAD - 1. As you do not like to use the powders sold to kill cockroaches you must get a tame hedgehog. 2. Dress lightly and take a dose of cream of tartar now and then of a morning, and the heat spots will go. Use a bath and take cooling drinks, but no stimulants. 3. Half an ounce of the flowers infused for half an hour in half a pint of boiling water, with a teaspoonful of bruised ginger and a few cloves. Dose, one ounce three times a day.

27 March 1880 - 'The Blackbird' by Harrison Weir

No English bird is better known and appreciated than the blackbird - ousel, or merle, as it is sometimes called. It is naturally of a very shy and timid nature, hiding amongst the thick foliage of evergreens, high grass, and weeds, or in the hedgerows, and then watching an opportunity to dart away into the nearest copse, making known its presence by its shrill alarm-note. Its food consists chiefly of wild fruit, berries, worms and insects. In an orchard it is a sad rogue, clearing off the fruit from cherry-trees, or current and gooseberry bushes, in a very short space of time. Nor is this the worst, from it has a bad habit of tasting pears and apples to a large extent, without confining itself  to any particular fruit, thereby spoiling a quantity, for you cannot preserve fruit after a hole, however small, has been picked in it.

In dry weather their depredation in fruit gardens is very serious. I have known nearly two dozen blackbirds in and about one tree in early morning. They are particularly fond of the berries of the mountain-ash, and those of the white thorn, also the holly in snowy weather. It is quite a mistake to suppose blackbirds eat slugs, and I have never known them when wild to eat snails. Taken altogether they are not so desirable in a garden as many imagine, and were it not for their delightfully melodious song I fear strong measures would be taken to get rid of them. But I prefer scaring them from any particular trees by scarlet worsted being laced about the branches, and a few pieces of tin, with feathers being hung here and there. Strawberries can be netted; also currants, raspberries, and gooseberries - but the net should be raised three feet above the plants, as the birds would rest upon it, and the net sinking with their weight, they would quickly put their heads through and enjoy the ripest of the fruit.

For keeping in a cage they are best brought up from the nest, and should be taken just as the feathers are showing beyond the quill part. The young may be reared with food made of oatmeal, with a little chopped beef and some sugar, but not much. As they grow older, stale buns mixed with bread-crumbs and beef cut up finely will serve to keep them in health. Now and then a piece of apple, pear, or cherry, or a few mountain ash berries for a change, will prove beneficial.

The cage should be large, and kept scrupulously clean, and a pan of soft water should be put in it every day, in which the bird might bathe, while water for drinking should be pure and fresh, not allowed to stand day after day.

It is most needful that the bottom of the cage be strewed with nice gravel, as swallowing grit and stones assists the digestion. In my opinion the best cage is the wicker one; it can be easily washed, and all insects that would otherwise be of much annoyance to the occupant thereby destroyed.

The blackbird may easily be caught by baiting a brick or other trap with fruit, such as cherries, plums or a ripe apple; but it is not well to catch them in summer, as they are then breeding, and their young would be left to starve in the nest. In the winter bait the trap with berries, bread and meat. Blackbirds when well taken care of will live in cages many years. I have heard of one fifteen years old.

Speckled, white and black birds - and white birds are not uncommon - and some beautifully-marked have been exhibited at the various shows. The notes of the blackbird is soft and melodious, being very rich and sweet at times. In its wild state it does not sing for long together, as it generally commences about the end of February and finishes at the beginning of June. As a rule birds only sing while they are nesting. In a cage the blackbird sings six or seven months in the year, or even more, but much depends on the food given to it.

Before closing this article, let me strongly impress on all those who keep birds in cages to look to their comfort and welfare themselves, every day. There is an old saying, "If you wish for a thing well done, do it yourself."

10 January 1880 - 'How We Saved the Poor Birds in the Winter'

Now that the cold weather has set in, I should like to interest every young reader of the GIRL'S OWN PAPER on behalf of the birds, so that something may be done to preserve such of our dear little feathered friends as are now left to us. I say such as are left, for no doubt both town and country girls have noticed how few birds there are about, and how silent the fields and woods have seemed to be this year in comparison with former ones.

It would take up many pages to tell the stories of bird-distress, famine, and death from starvation which took place during last winter's long frost. I was in the English Lake district in the summer, and there I was told how the songbirds were found dead in all directions.

"The fruit hangs on the trees untouched except by human hands, and last year we could hardly get a ripe cherry from that large tree," said a lady friend to me. "This summer I have not seen a single blackbird, and the only uninvited visitor that has shared with us is the little brown fellow yonder," pointing to a bushy-tailed squirrel which was at that moment busy amongst the boughs.

"It makes the garden quite dull," she added. "I would rather have less fruit and more birds."

A gentleman at the same table told us of his experiences on the shores of Derwent Water during the long frost, and said one day he was surprised to notice a bonny, spotted thrush standing quite still on one foot, and with his head under his wing. It did not move as he came near, and, on touching it, he found it was frozen to death. In fact, our English birds perished by thousands of hunger and cold.

Now, I want to tell you how we saved our birds last winter, and I hope all who read this will do something to preserve those in their own neighbourhoods, should they again need a helping hand.

We live in a sort of oasis of green fields, surrounded now with a brick and mortar desert, which has gathered all about us without being able to enter the Polygon as our enclosure, or park, with its few good houses, is called. Though comparatively near a large busy city, we have great numbers of birds living amongst us. Both kinds of thrushes, chaffinches, countless starlings, and sparrows, and an occasional blackbird and robin may be seen and heard in due season.

We scatter food for them all the year round, every scrap of crust or morsel left on the plates being put aside, the hard bits soaked and thrown out on the grass at the back, each day, for bird consumption.

One day, as I was dressing before dinner, I noticed that a pear-tree opposite my window was swarming with birds. And what a clatter they were making!

I asked the waitress, who was bird-almoner at that time, if she could give any reason for the uproar.

"Oh, dear, dear," she said ,looking quite guilty and troubled. "I had forgotten to feed them!" and rushing out, basin in hand, she soon made things right with the birds, and the noise ceased.

They are used to a chirrup or whistle, and as soon as it sounds, though not a bird might be visible the moment before, little knowing heads begin to pop out from the eaves and the ivy, which is packed with nests, and down they come in all directions to share the feast.

But about our special arrangement for last winter, these being our all-the-year-round arrangements.

One day, when the snow had been long on the frost-bound earth, the greengrocer's boy came into the kitchen in a state of great excitement.

"There are two big crowd in the Polygon, seeking for something to eat," said he.

We have no rookery in our neighbourhood, the nearest being about a couple of miles away, so their appearance set me thinking what could be done, and I decided to institute free breakfast and dinner parties for their benefit. Instead of confining ourselves to crumbs, we began to gather all the odd bits of fat, gristle, scraps of rind of meat, occasional bones, spare potatoes, in fact any and everything that could help to feed these feathered vagrants.

The first spread was made on the lawn in the forenoon, and repeated at three o'clock.

The two rooks were at the first, and at the second there were five, and members of other birds.

The next day everybody in the house came to look at the assemblage. There were nine rooks, six chaffinches, three thrushes,  one dear little robin, more than a hundred starlings, and innumerable sparrows. Daily through all the cold weather we continued our free meals, all made up of odds and ends that would neither be missed nor wanted - most of them, indeed, would have been thrown away.

The birds knew our times and, if we were a little late, would be sitting on the trees, waiting for their supply. As soon as the chirrup of the feeder was heard, down they came, and as the children used to say, "it seemed to rain birds all round them" for the hungry creatures did not trouble themselves about the presence of the youngster, who was scattering the food, but set to work, with right good will, to secure an ample share of the feast.

There was another pensioner that used to join; but he went on four legs, and had a furry coat instead of a feathered one. It was a huge Tom Cat with white breast and paws, evidently homeless, poor fellow! He knew these meal-times as well as the birds, and came to claim his share amongst them. He used to feed, literally in their midst, with the birds not a yard off him; for after a time or two they were so accustomed to his presence that they took no more notice of him than he did of them! Poor Tom! We used to invite him in for a warm by the kitchen fire, and a share of our pussy's milk and scraps. He is one of many stray animals of his kind, left behind them by people who remove from streets of small houses which run up to our ground at the back, there being, amongst some persons, a foolish superstition "it is not lucky to flit the cat".

Believe me, it is always lucky to be kind to every creature that God has made.

We continued to feed the birds until quite the early summer months, and used to like to see the rooks with their fashionable black satin dresses, glistening in the sunshine. Often the children used to laugh at these great, greedy fellows cramming piece after piece into their mouths, until the distended beaks would hold no more, and then flying off to a little distance to consume their spoil. The first pair stayed with us, or rather visited us daily, long after the others had gone back to their homes, and were too busily occupied with family cares to spend any time in lounging round the Polygon, like study beggars. So we ceased to feed them when we felt they could shift for themselves; for we did not want to encourage pauperism or demoralise even the rooks when self-dependence was possible, and the best thing for them.

I should say the little gentle hedge-sparrows which live in the next garden were too timid to join the bird throng on the lawn, with puss in their midst, so we always made a little separate spread for them under the hedge where they could eat in peace.

Thus we saved our birds at literally no cost, except that of a little trouble, and occasionally a few pence spent in potatoes or stale bread. Even every drop of gravy left on a plate was mixed up with the scraps to make the meal more savoury.

If in each house a little were saved for our feathered neighbours, and all the children in our homes were accustomed to do something to preserve our bird-life, our woods and fields would soon be flooded with melody again, and there would be no more complaints of the unnatural silence amongst the trees.

We need not be ashamed of caring  for the birds, and thus acting as the almoners of the Heavenly