The conditions, therefore, necessary to his happiness are: Never-failing care as to his physical comforts--such as a proper situation of the cage,--neither in the hot sunshine nor in a draught; fresh and perfect food, with variety; plenty of fresh water; suitable and regular bath, etc. And secondly--though perhaps it should be first, as it is most important--treatment as if he were a sentient being, instead of a piece of furniture; talking to him, taking notice of him, making a companion and friend of him. And thirdly, the freedom of a room, at least part of every day.
Under these conditions, as I know from close and sympathetic observation, our little brothers can be made so happy, that, as I said, many of them will not accept their liberty. They choose between freedom, with hard labor and many anxieties, and comfortable captivity, with ease and security, and many decide--as do many of the human family--for the former.
There is another reason why I have become partially tolerant of the caging of birds. What first influenced me was the fact that every individual rescued from the discomforts of a bird store, where they are seldom well cared for and never cherished, is greatly benefitted, and I felt that to be a work of charity.
But there is one strong argument in favor of the custom. That is, their great value as a means of educating children. Nothing is more important than the training of our youth in humanity and respect for the rights of others. And in no way can this be so well accomplished as by giving to them the care of pets. By investigation of prisons and reform schools, it has been amply proved that nothing so surely keeps a boy from falling into a criminal life as the care of and kindness to the lower orders. The daily care of a pet bird is a daily lesson in altruism which never fails to bear fruit.
In those precious first years of the child's life, when the mother has the power of instilling lessons that will be a part of him,--the most indelible he will ever receive,--if she takes a little pains to do so she can implant, with the love of creatures dependent upon him, qualities that will go far to make him a true, manly man.
While these considerations do not, perhaps, make it right to deprive a fellow creature of his liberty, they do furnish a little consolation to those who love humanity as well as birds. At the same time I must admit, that of all pitiful sights on earth, that of a neglected captive is one of the most heartrending.