22 THE CANARY BIRD. 



male out, and put him up with the other hen, 

 and so on to the end of the season. 



Sprinkle plenty of gravel or sea-sand at 

 the bottom of your cage, and hang up in it 

 a lump of good old mortar, the nibbling and 

 biting of which keeps the birds in good 

 health. As soon as you have put your birds 

 up, keep feeding them high, and add a little 

 moist sugar to the bread and egg, until they 

 have laid an egg or two ; the moist sugar 

 opening the hens' bodies, and preventing 

 them being egg-bound. Be sure that the 

 bread and egg are fresh every day, and it is 

 best to feed them over night, so that they 

 find it early and fresh at break of day. Let 

 the greens be always fresh, such as water 

 cresses, radish tops, cos lettuce, cabbage let- 

 tuce, small sallad, as cresses, mustard, &c., all 

 young and green. I do not recommend chick- 

 weed, nor groundsell, nor plantain, till it is 

 ripe and full of seeds. 



BREEDING. 



The Canary is a most prolific bird, so much 

 so, that in the great majority of instances the 

 propensity requires to be restrained rather 

 than encouraged. They will have from two 

 to five nests in the year ; and some birds 

 have been known to bring up safely and suc- 

 cessfully, eight broods in one season. But it 

 is a cruel and imprudent experiment to make ; 

 they should not be allowed to breed more 

 than twice, or at the most, three times a year. 

 If a hen is prolific one season, she will be the 



