86 



The year before last I had very good luck generally, rear- 

 ing a good many birds from a few hens only. 



Last year with my five breeding Canary hens the 

 majority of the eggs were unfertile. When any eggs hatched 

 four out of the five hens simply never fed at all and the young 

 invariably perished within a few hours of their birth. In all 

 cases I found lliem quite empty. Now this cannot be laid to 

 the grounds of no-egg, because it is common knowledge 

 among all breeders that egg is not necessary for the first few 

 hours. 



On the contrary the fifth hen reared to maturity, with only 

 fitful help from her mate (Siskin), every young one she hatched 

 with nothing but ordinary seeds, bread and green stuff. She is 

 onl)'' a little hen herself, but you, Sir, doubtlessly remember 

 how struck you were with the colour, style, and particularly the 

 large size of one of her sons which you saw in my dining- 

 room on your visit in the winter. 



This year, I have so far had only two nests of young, and 

 with them I have had the same luck as my correspondent. 

 About the 14th day they were allowed to die. Being differently 

 situated from my friend with regard to facilities for watching 

 the behaviour of my birds I am able to give a different reason 

 to the one he surmises. In both cases the young on reaching 

 their second week asked time after time to be fed without 

 success, finally becoming too weak to raise their heads and 

 dying at last literally of starvation and emptiness. The fool 

 mothers brooded them assiduously, but would not feed or even 

 attempt to do so. These birds are two of those who shewed 

 their idiocy last year in not feeding at all. 



Mr. Dart has given no ^gg food for three or four years to 

 any of his birds. He has always been a remarkably successful 

 breeder of many species, including Canaries, although he 

 keeps large numbers together. Last year however he had the 

 same experience I had. Out of four Canary hens, three refused to 

 feed at all, the fourth reared all she hatched. This year the 

 three are repeating their old tactics ; the other has young ones 

 shifting for themselves. 



It would seem unwarranted therefore for my friend to 

 come to the conclusion he has arrived at. The diet he gives 

 is sufficiently nutritious when properly supplied by attentive 

 parerits. On careful watching he will find the cause of his 

 deaths to be unconnected with the quality of the food. As an 

 instance let us recall a p. ni. report on some birds last month. 



