CANARIES, HYBRIDS, AND BRITISH BIRDS 



end, though sensitive minds may question 

 its morality. 



We do not inchidc witliin the ranks ol' 

 sportsmen the man witli the gun wlio brinirs 

 to the ground every rare leathered erea- 

 ture he comes across, and by such ruthless 

 destruction robs us and our country ol' 

 many beautilul birds, which should be 

 with us in numbers and even make this 

 their breeding-place. Such reckless slaugh- 

 ter does not come within the scope of either 

 sport or morality. 



A feeling aldn to this predatory dispo- 

 sition may be seen in the eagerness with 



which some village urchin ex- 

 The Young pg^^s iiis energies in the 

 Idea. ,. 



construction ol snares or 



trajis. or steals stealthily along through 

 copse or by hedgerow, armed with catapult 

 or other clumsy contrivance of home manu- 

 facture, knowing no fatigue and despising 

 every obstacle, happy it only by the exer- 

 cise of patience and skill he can compass 

 the death or capture of even one small 

 bird. To him, the advent of winter, with 

 its frost and snow and long dark nights, 

 means the arrival of his sporting season, 

 when, impelled by hunger, his "game" 

 leaves its usual haunts and seeks the home- 

 stead by day, or affords him by night all 

 the excitement and glories of netting tlie 

 siiellercd sides of stacks, the overhanging 

 eaves of barns, and the still riclur preserves 

 of ivy-chul walls. But the lad has a warm 

 corner in his heart for ail that. The friendly 

 robin, enticed l)y crumbs, takes its morning 

 meal at his window, and is allowed to come 

 and go, hopping in and out from imder the 

 treacherous stable-sieve, delieatcly jjoised 

 over the baited spot to whieli he wishes 

 to lure other birds, and is a privileged 

 visitor. The half-frozen tiuush. ea])tured 

 in the snow on one of the lad's hunting 

 ex|)editions. or some wounded sufferer with 

 broken wing, appeals to his sympalliies. 

 is eared for, tenderly nursed, and, lliougii 

 ii eai)tive, becomes a pet. The young 

 rabbits, taken from their downy bed -a 

 short burrow in some falinw liiul ,i lioiiie 

 in his hutch, and when grown well, the 

 lad has not the heart to kill them, and so 



sets them at liberty, himself scarcely less 

 hai)py than they. The nest of young 

 birds, long marked ilown and daily visited 

 with furtive steps lest other watchful 

 eyes should discover them, carefully carried 

 home in his cap, become objects of extreme 

 solicitude, and are possibly actually killed 

 with kindness, A strange medley is the 

 lad — a compound of thought and thought- 

 lessness, but good at the heart. Nothing 

 which appeals trustingly to his better 

 nature appeals in vain ; and so it is, we 

 believe, that this desire to have some- 

 thing to love and care for overcomes the 

 other and lower tendency. It grows with 

 our growth and strengthens with our 

 strength, and when satisfied teaches many 

 a lesson of abnegation of self. 



The love of pets, indeed, insensibly leads 

 us to the greater study of Nature. The 



volume lies open before us re- 

 Nature piete with interest, and the studv 

 Study, 



is alike absorbing whether the 



subject be our own wonderful anatomy or 

 the structure of a mollusc ; the oak which 

 has seen the sunnners and winters of a 

 century, or the fungus which springs u]) 

 in a few hours. Cage-birds are on our 

 particular leaf of this inexhaustible volume, 

 and we propose to look at them from a 

 homely jioint of view — homely in every 

 sense of the word. This will not be an 

 abstruse work, but one in which the 

 everyday life and management of the 

 most popular and attractive cage-birds, 

 foreign birds alone excepted, will be 

 exhaustively treated. It is not intended 

 for the naturalist or the ornithologist 

 pro])er, though i\en they may. jierhaps. 

 dip into its pages and learn something of 

 the <lomestie habits and economy of some 

 feathered taxourite ; but it is intended as 

 a practical g\iide, a xadc inccum for all who 

 take an interest in rearing and tending 

 cage-birds, whetiur iinlive. or coming to 

 us Innu far-olT elinies during the migratory 

 season. 



One (it (lur specialities is the Canary, 

 liie liome-i)ird of Kngland. and one more 

 generally met witii tiian any other. 

 Other song-birds, each with its own peculiar 



