l note of thanks
when it is bestowed upon her is of quite a different character. So also
is her tender little sound of rejoicing when I give her some broken
egg-shell; she seems to value it immensely, and chirps to me with a
great piece of it in her bill, quite regardless of good manners. I often
think with pain how much birds must suffer when hour after hour they
call and chirp and entreat for something they want, which they can see
and long for, and yet the dull-minded human beings they live with pay no
heed to them, food and water are given, but, in many cases, nothing more
all day long, not even a little chickweed or groundsel, or the
much-needed egg-shell to supply strength to their little bones. A bright
word or two for birdie now and then, and a few friendly chirps as we
enter the room, would do much to cheer the little prisoner's life, and
would soon bring a charming response in fluttering wings and evident
pleasure at our return.

This state of things cannot be attained in a day or a month; it is only
by persistent kindness, exercised patiently, until the little heart is
won to a perfect trust in you as a true friend.

Birds can easily be trained to come out for their daily bath, and then
go back to their cage of their own accord, but it needs patience at
first. The bird must never be caught by the hand or driven about, but if
the cage is put on the floor with some nice food in it, and the bird is
called and gently guided to it, though it may take an hour to do it the
first time, it will at last hop in, and then the door may be very
quietly shut. Next time he will know what you wish and will be much more
amenable, until at last it will be the regular thing to go home when the
bath is over.

I would condemn the practice of making birds draw up their own water;
they are never free to satisfy their thirst without toilsome effort, and
are much more liable to accident when chained to an open board than when
kept in a cage. It is also sad to know that dozens of birds are starved
to death or die of thirst whilst being taught this trick--frequently but
one out of many is found to have the aptitude to learn it.

It is a great help if some specially favourite food can be discovered by
which the pet creature can be rewarded for good conduct. I _never_ take
away food or water to induce obedience by privation--a practice which I
fear is often resorted to in training creatures for public
exhibition--but an additional dai