Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1886-09-16

/ other through the half open window.
Take off yer r-r-r hat" interrupted
the gaeen brute, running his nose through
/ a slat in his cage.
keep quiet, Sam Jones or I'll whip
you hard" scolded the good lady, com
/ ing to the rescue of her visitor. "You
mustn't mind what Sammy says" she
continued, he's getting old and cross,
and -"
"Haw- haw -haw; "Trip "Trip, "trip
1 oh, cheese it, cheese it, cheese it; howdy;
aw- W whor! O-o-o-oi polly wants a
I ker-r-r-acker'
/ These calculations hit the reporter
1 like string of Frankfurt sausages, and
seemed to tickle Sam Jones immensely.
/ They came from gray female parrot
/ with one eye and wings slashed with red.
She sat in brass cage near the ceiling,
and when she had finished her TRADE she
wiped the venom off her tongue on her
perch and feigned sleep.
cold, too, | suppose" remarked the
visitor in a soft voice.
$50 soak yer-r-r-r head" roared the
one-eyed poll
"What was that you said, deary:" ask
ed Mrs. MAR.
the visitor, stepping out into the middle
of the floor.
"Oh, you naughty birdy. Wen go into
another room where you can't disturb us,
and when supper time comes I'll attend
TO your case
Mrs. MAR then led the way into anoth-
er room amid a chorus of ''tr-ta's" and
''so-long's" from the rowdies. When the
lady had taken a seat she leaned her head
on the back of the chair and said.
Eyes, il is a strange business, but it is
one in which ! take deep interest. Since
started my hospital, six years ago,
have discovered that birds are liable to
attack from fifty different diseases. Many
of these malaGtes are miserable in their
nature. A great many of The birds that
are brought here for treatment are suffer
ing from bad keeping from eating stale
or sour food, or from being kept in UNI
clean cages. In their wild state birds do
not remain long enough in one place to
contract any disease that has its origin
in filth. For this reason it would seem
that lovers of birds would see to it that
the cages of their pets are kept clean and
sweet. Like human beings, birds will
not thrive in an impure atmosphere In
addition to clean cage, they must have
light-not artificial light, for that blinds
them-but sunshine"
From what diseases do birds suffer-
CAS- | have said before, they are liable
to attack from fifty diseases. Canaries
are subject TO asthma and pneumonia.
When over-fed or too fat, they often die
of apoplexy, When this fatal disease
fastens itself upon them they topple off
their perches and are dead before they
strike the bottom OF the cage. When
severely frightened birds go into convul-
sions like little children Paroxysm fol
lows paroXysm in quick succession, and
unless the unfortunate bird receives inn
mediate and skillful attention there is
little hope of reviving its life. Treat
ment of such cases Is similar to that adj
ministered to children in similar pre-
dicament Warm water is applied to the
body and cold water TO tho head This
is done to keep the blood in circulation
and prevent it rushing to the brain. Sc
we're colds or gripings will throw birds
into commissions almost as quick as fright.
These cases demand delicate handling,
and would prove fatal in other than pro-
fessional hands"
"What success do you have with mock
ing birdsy'
"Mocking birds are of the soft bin spe-
cies just why they are classified as soft
bills | can not say, for their bills are as
hard as those of any of our birds. l sup
pose, though, it is because they do not
eat seed"
Don't eat seed?"
"Why, bless you, no. If you were to
give o hooking bird seed and water it
would die in five days. The mocking
bird must have meat, worms and fruit.
Prepared food is very good too
"Do mocking birds have any peculiari
ties;.
Lots of 'em. one of their eocentrici-
ties is to throw their heads back until
they nearly touch their wings. This is
Il vicious habit, for in practcing it the
bird often loses its balance and falls
backward upon the floor of its cage,
thereby injuring its plumage. The
knocking bird is As playful as n kitten
that is when you have largo number of
them. They like to play ball and run
races and do any number of cute things,
They are observing, sDo, and possess a
remarkably retentive memory. T he
knocking bird has reached the summit
of its ambition when it can initiate the
barnyard fowl. The minute it can crow
like a rooster il has lots of fun at the ex-
pense of the shanghai. The hooking
bird lives to good old, ripe age.
know of one that is thirty years old, and
1t still whistles Beautifully
How do birds hurt themselves
by getting their feet ontangled in the
wires of their cages and then struggling
TO free themselves. Many people do not
attend to the nails of their pets. They
allow them to grow until they are a men
ace 10 the dear little things. They get
caught in tho perches, in the food dishes,
and in the wires of the cage. They fut-
ter about until they get mad, and then
give one last, despairing jerk that almost
invariably breaks one of the slender legs
the poor things. Half of the broken
legs of imprisoned birds are caused in
this way, There are but few other ways
in which the pets suffer injury unless
they are placed whore the tabby can get
at them. And right here | want to tell
you something which most people do not
know, The red bird and the hooking