HARDVyiCKE'S SCIEN CE-GOSSIP. 



53 



fanciers are apt to forget that there are other ani- 

 mals in existence besides their especial favourites 

 and, much-abused and little-noticed as they are, cats 

 possess many qualities worth studying, and a great 

 deal of instinctive cleverness which is not appreciated 

 by the world at large. Of course there are cats and 

 cats, and every one has not the same abilities ; but 

 it will be found that the excellences of the tabby 

 race are most valued by men of a high order of in- 

 tellect. But this is a digression. 



Cats do not turn round quite so much as dogs, but 

 they do, as a rule, make oue or two gyrations before 

 they finally roll themselves in a ball ; and as cats are 

 undoubtedly a climbing race, and not accustomed 

 to sleep on the ground, and as most probably the 

 same effect is owing to the same cause both in dogs 

 and cats, we may reasonably infer that the Darwinian 

 theory in this respect is incorrect. It has been 

 affirmed that dogs always revolve three times ; but 

 this is a manifest absurdity, and palpably untrue. 

 It appears, however, that they [usually, if not always, 

 turn in the contrary direction to the sun (i. e. from 

 west to east), and this may be explained by the fact 

 that in so doing they recline on their right sides, a 

 practice almost universal among human beings, and 

 by no means confined to people with weak hearts. 

 Almost all shells have what is called a right-handed 

 spiral, and vegetables will each only climb by one 

 kind of spiral, the Hop one way, the Convolvulus the 

 other. There would seem, therefore, to be some 

 connection between the vegetable and animal worlds, 

 in this matter, and I believe that pigeons and large 

 birds, in ascending and descending, invariably de- 

 scribe the same helix. Can any other reader of 

 Science -Gossip throw light on this most interesting 

 subject? 



Blachlieaih. E. C. Leekoy. 



A GOSSIP ABOUT CANARIES. 



r\^ all our "Feathered Eriends" it would be 

 ^-^ difficult to find oue more familiar, sociable, 

 and cheerful than the Canary, becoming so remark- 

 ably tame, showing such pleasure in being noticed, 

 setting itself up so sprightly, tlioroughly entering 

 into the kindness bestowed, and answering every 

 word spoken to it. It will also show a great 

 deal of affection for those in the habit of noticing 

 it, calling loudly until something is said to it. I 

 knew an instance where one would come from its 

 cage at the ringing of a bell ; upon which it was 

 treated to a little sweet biscuit, hemp-seed, or 

 maw-seed, as a reward for obedience. If time and 

 care be given, the Canary may be trained to do 

 almost anything, and with moderate care at moult- 

 ing time a canary will live over ten years. 



Some of our Yorkshire birds are very graceful, 

 but not so stronger such good songsters as the Nor- 



wich birds. The song of the Canary, however poor, 

 is composed of imitations of the best song-birds the 

 world produces, e.g. the Nightingale, Woodlark, 

 Skylark, and Titlark. Not only has it this delight- 

 ful song, which in the above-mentioned birds lasts 

 only two or three mouths (the Woodlark excepted), 

 but it will sing its beautiful, changeable song 

 almost the whole year round. In the Canary we 

 get many shades of yellow, from the beautiful junk 

 to the mealy or almost white, with a great variety 

 of splashed birds, called by some persons " mule " 

 Canaries. Add to this the fancy birds, such as the 

 "Cinnamon," "Lizard" " London Pride " &c., and 

 we get a pleasing variety not found in any other 

 song-bird. Then, as a domestic pet for nesting and 

 rearing its young, the Canary is, as a caged bird, 

 without a rival. It will build its nest and bring up 

 its young with almost as much felicity as a bird in 

 the field; but to succeed, you should have a large 

 cage for each pair, or, if a double cage, it should 

 have a movable partition, so that when one hen is 

 at nest the male bird may be shifted to the other 

 hen. It is a common thing for canary hens to rear 

 their young without the assistance of the male bird. 

 If in an aviary, and you are not breeding fancy 

 birds, you may let your birds loose without pairing, 

 at the rate of one male to three hens ; and for all 

 purposes I would advise amateurs to try Norwich 

 birds. In one season from a pair of such I reared 

 twenty young ones ; German birds, on the contrary, 

 are almost certain to fail. 



It will be found an excellent plan, in rearing 

 canaries in an aviary, to tie some twigs of birch at 

 the thick end, fastening them at the same time to a 

 small piece of wood at the place where tied, so as to 

 spread the birch in a semicircular form. The piece 

 of wood should be about the same size as the nest- 

 box. When this is done, place the diameter of the 

 semicircle against the wall, and drive a nail through 

 the part which is tied. You can then place your 

 nest-box in the centre, and all is ready. When the 

 young birds have left the nest, remove the whole, 

 and it may be easily cleansed. This is presuming 

 you have given them a corner of a room, just large 

 enough to give them a small tree in the centre and 

 a shallow pan to bathe in. Your birds should be 

 put together about the beginning of March, at 

 which time you must give them hard-boiled q^s, 

 and crumbed bread. There is no occasion to chop 

 the egg, merely take the shell off oue end and give 

 it to the birds in an egg-cup ; there will then be a 

 saving of time and less waste. 



C. J. W. EUDD, 



" North, south, east, and west,— on all sides birds 

 are to be found. Long before man appeared, they 

 were settled inhabitants of this eai thly sphere,"— 

 "Bird Lifer by Dr. Brehm. 



