64 



CANARIES, HYBRIDS, AND BRITISH BIRDS 



WOODEN NEST-BOX. 



or jiaiiitcd inside and out they sliould now 

 have a I'rcsii coat of enamel. No Hvestocls. 

 will then he left, as tiiese measures make 

 a clean sweep of them, and destroy their 

 eggs also. One word of eaution : old riekety 

 cages should not be allowed in the breeding- 

 room, for it is almost imjiossihle to kce]> 

 them clean ; burn them. 



These remarks have followed on our 

 reference to wooden nest-boxes, basket- 

 work and similar nests, and we think that 

 the reason of our objection to them is now 



patent. Pos- 

 sibly none of 

 our objections 

 is very serious, 

 but \\e are 

 staiuieh believ- 

 ers in the (jld 

 adage — " Pre- 

 \cnti()n is bet- 

 ter than cure."' 

 We do not 

 assert that the 

 wooden nest- 

 box is not used successfully; indeed, we 

 shall now endeavour to show that it is. 



It is strange that some people should 



adhere for so long a time to early teachings 



in the I'ace of a newer and 



lestlox^'" '-'"^^ ^•'•^^'l- I>^ ^^'«-wich, 

 Ihc city of Canary breeders, 

 a wooden box shaped something like a 

 kitchen soajj-hox (as can be seen by a refer- 

 ence to the illustration) is considered the 

 correct thing, and scarcely anything but 

 dried moss is sup|)lied for building material. 

 Yet who shall say that the Norwich men 

 arc not successful breeders ? \\\- belicNC 

 that the sa,ine methods arc a])|5li('d in cer- 

 tain of the Midland districts. Xorthampton 

 in p;irt icuhir. aiiol her st i-onghold oj' .Xorwich 

 breeding. This doubtless arises from the 

 fact that the example of the Xorwich 

 brecdeis was followed in the early da-\'s. and 

 continued as ;i matter of custom. 



In laet it is only necessary to fui-nisli 

 a hen Canary with some niche in- 

 other, aiul she w ill snon occupy it ; all 

 else failing, she will take possession of 

 the egg-drawer, or even deposit nesting 



stuff in the seed-hopper, or in the 

 corner of the cage bottom. She must 

 build. 



The wooden box requires no lining at 

 the hands of the fancier. A more skilful 

 architect than he will weave her own felt, 

 and furnish it in a way compared with 

 which all other attempts are but the most 

 clumsy bungling. We are quite ])re]:)ared 

 for the statement that years of domestica- 

 tion have done their work in impairing the 

 architectural skill of the Canary, and that 

 it is necessary for their comfort to assist 

 them in this res])ect. It may be so : and 

 yet if the ofTsjiring of a wild bird, which 

 never in its life saw a nest built, can con- 

 struct its own habitation, why shoidd 

 }iot the offspring of a tame one, which in 

 its tm-n never saw one built, be able to do 

 the same thing ? The fact is, many of the 

 finches build very slovenly nests as com- 

 pared with other birds, and birds of the 

 same family vary much in the dis])l;iv of a 

 knowledge of the art of nidification, as 

 every schoolboy knows. The character 

 of the nest is there, but the fmish is fre- 

 (|ucntly wanting. And so it is with our 

 I'aged Canaries. One will do its work in 

 the most masterly way and tui'ii out its 

 nest with ex(]uisite finish, while another 

 will content itself with a mere apology 

 scarcely worth the name. No two build 

 their nests exactly .alike : one makes the 

 most ])erfect cup. so dvv\> that you 

 wonder how she will manage to sit in it; 

 another hlis up hei' l)i>\. or nest-pan. 

 leaving barely the slightest depression in 

 which l() dei)osit her eggs : another makes 

 ;ui o\al cavity: and another in\a.i'iably 

 selects the corner of her box. lca\ing the 

 wood exposed on two sides, nuich in the 

 same way as we sometimes find a wihl 

 bird's nest built against a branch, |)art 

 of which jiositively forms a portion of the 

 inside of it. And these birds always do 

 the same thing if they build lialf-a-dozen 

 times in the season, and yet somehow 

 always manage to take care of their eggs 

 and their young ones if left alone. Perhaps 

 \\itli all our consideration and well-meant 

 endeavours to assist them, they know as 



