175 



year thirteen young hatched from the Chaffinch eggs 

 and six from the Bramblefinch eggs. The hen Chaf- 

 finches however are earlier breeders than their partners, 

 consequently, as a rule, only the eggs of their second 

 nests get fertilized by the male Bramblefinches, and 

 on the other hand some of the cock Chaffinches are 

 almost ready to moult when the hen Bramblefinclies 

 are in full breeding condition. 



These eggs are taken and given over to the care 

 of certain wild birds, which have in the several in- 

 stances reared them up to a certain stage after which 

 Miss Reeves has "finished them off" herself on a diet 

 of green and other caterpillars and mealworms. 



The greatest difficulty is to ward off accidents 

 from the various foster parents' habitations, rain, wind, 

 mice, cats, crows, and other troubles, having nipped 

 otherwise successful operations in the bud. It has 

 meant real and endless attention to successfully 

 accomplish these ends, and hardly anyone but a Miss 

 Reeves would have succeeded. When one considers 

 it has been necessary to hand-feed with live animal 

 food most of these hybrids from dawn till dusk, it 

 would indeed have been a cruel return for interest and 

 work if success had not attended the experiment. 

 Miss Reeves has bred hybrids from Canary and Bull- 

 finch, Linnet and Bullfinch, Greenfinch and Bullfinch, 

 Redpoll and Bullfinch, Greenfinch and Goldfinch, 

 Redpoll and Canary, Siskin and Canary, Linnet and 

 Canary, Goldfinch and Canar}', and Greenfinch and 

 Canary ; the last three readily and easily. Most of the 

 others she has successfully reared to maturity, some 

 of which fetched good prices as exhibition birds. To 

 attempt to describe the birds on paper would give but 



