256 



fruit, but he seemed to feel it derogatory to his 

 dignity to be seen eating — and enjoying — artificial 

 food ! He grew out of this, however, in time, but not 

 before I had taken advantage of his weakness and 

 played a few tricks on him. I would pretend to go 

 out of the room, leaving him demurely sitting on a 

 perch, and after staying outside a few moments, I 

 would just creep back again, and invariably caught 

 him at the food bowl. Sometimes he would go on 

 eating most heartily, without being aware of my 

 presence, until I made an audible move, when he 

 would hop up to a perch in a second, and wear a most 

 injured expression for some time afterwards. 



{To be co7itifmed). 



Z\)c Storv) of Bir&-2)eatb. 



By W. Gko. Cresweli., M.D. Durh., L.R.C.P., F.Z.S. 

 (Cofiiinned fjom page 240). 



y^ Y this time we shall be able to understand the 

 \(y\ true inwardness of something we often hear 

 --*^^ about — the so-called hardiness of Canary 

 Hybrids. In the first place, breeders of these 

 birds are unanimous in saying that while in the nest 

 their expectation of life is only a narrow one ; it is 

 however a matter of common opinion, at any rate 

 among non-exhibitors, that if they live long enough 

 to get about they are to be then regarded as robust 

 and long lived. The mortality among them as nest- 

 lings is of course accounted for in as man}' ways as 

 there are breeders to speak about it. The weather was 

 hot, or it was cold ; perhaps wet, perhaps too dry ; 

 watercress was here the sinner, there the hemp ; yet 

 another nest was killed by groundsel, or perchance the 

 mother sat too close and sweated them, and so on 

 throughout the whole gamut of idle speculation based 



