The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1885-02-18
a VARIETY OF PARROTS,
Sabbcring IN Many Languages While Their
Master Talks About TheD.

Master Talks About TheBi.
Several hundred parrots perched in cages
around the walls Of room on Roosevelt
street on Saturday afternoon and, when
they were not screening or talking, gazed
silently at the old-fashioned stove, on which
steamed a big tin pan full OF bot water.
They howled in relays, and the dozen OF
other animals that had larger cages in the
first tier looked unhappy and worried by
the ineessant din. Gazing with fatherly
ownership over his menagerie was we'll
built elear-eyed Seotehman with long bashy
moustlche and curly brown hair. He said:
These are only samples, but you can see
now every kind of parrot looks. l got in
over 800 last week, and have them stored
away now They come in on sailing ships,
chiefly Portuguese. | give the Captains
points about what birds to get, and what
they are worth. I've one agent at Porto
Bello to whom | send flour, hams, corr
meal and gew-gaws. He trades these arti
cles off for birds. They go further thar
money. / expect to sell bird at twice
what pay for him, though | take ten per
cent. off for cash. But ten per cent. of
the parrots die, SO, allowing for feed and
care, there is not as much profit as you
might think. I did business of $4,000
last year.
q Parrots range in price from 50 to $25.
though many are sold for greater prices.
This large bird, all soft gray except red
tip on its tail, is gray African. They are
worth ordinarily from $40 to SIS. The
Mexican are the dearest and the best talk.
ers. 4 good one is worth S25. I've one
here that picked up the Spanish alphabe
% his way up on the ship. They are light
green, with red wing joints and yellow
heads. An Amazon parrot is of snarly dis
position and dirty looking. It's worth $40.
One of these green and orange birds, with
light blue forehead, is worth So. When
they have red :oreheads they are worth 81.
Cuban birds are cheapest, only 81 apiece.
They look uneasy, solemn, and hypocriti-
cal
Troopioles are n new kind to be i'm
portel. They look like half-hatched chick
ems with their yellow bottles and black
heads and wings. sold one to n Fourth
avenue barber for 500 1t could talk, and
whistle . Pretty Polly Perkins, = two Ger
man watzes, and bugle song.
Alone. over in that corner cage. ] have
oneer animal, an Australian laus ing
jacaas'. He don't do anything Int sit ON
his perch aud stare and grin in an iiiotie
way Every few minutes he bray. III
poke him and he'll bray for YOU"
Mr. Burns took stat oil the cage and
poked the bird. 1t topped around pneasily.
looked silly, and brayed II laughed silly
to itself over its success. and Mr.. Burn,
went on:
. Holidays are the best time for me- The
week before Christmas / sold 81 500 worth,
Sometimes | have 5000 parrots sto,ei ava,
in various places around the city.
:. L, teach parrot to talk, it should b
kept pirate from all the other parrots
though they often learn from each other
The way I think BIS. is to keep il in youl
BEDROOM and every night before you go &c
bel put cloth around the cage and say
something to the bird. It will ponder over
tt all night, and when you take the cloth
of in file morning the parrot will say what
yon said the night before. For example,
Il You say Good morning the night be.
fore, the parrot will say Good morning
when il secs You the next morning. After
par OF gets started talking it picks up lots
OF things. You can teach one to talk ia six
weeks.
" Parrots naturally would all be cente-
narians. Bringing them here shortens their
lives to 10 or 20 years on the average. |
never knew one to die of old age. When
they are first brought here many of them
lie. Inflammation of the lungs or colds
kill them usually. The Oldest one know
Of is owned by an Albany family. 1t is
gray African, 10i years old. It has been
handed down and treated with the best OF
care. IN Mexico they often get to be 100.
Families hand them down as heirlooms, AMI
they ara spoken of as our family parrot
Parrots do not propagate in this climate. \
gray one has been known 10 hatch ont
young ones in Europe, but never here.
Phroluets born in Australia will propagate
here, but not often. The proper temperi
lure TO keep room WITH parrots in is Z
degrees. 1 give tlsm tepii water TO drink.
1t might give them a cold to drink hydran
water-Nelo Yo,h Sun.