45 



food, as lettuce leaves, watercress, &c., not forgetting 

 bread and milk, to which add a little coarse brown 

 sugar. 



Epilepsy^ which is common among many kinds of 

 birds, may be produced in canaries by particular causes, 

 as great delicacy and timidity. "We should therefore 

 avoid alarming them, either by catching them too 

 suddenly or violently, or by tormenting them in any 

 way. 



Overgrown claws and leah. — When the claws or beak 

 want paring, sharp scissors must be used, and care 

 taken to avoid drawing blood, lest the bird should be 

 maimed. They often injure themselves when their 

 claws are too long, and get hooked in the wires of the 

 cage, and continue thus hanging. The females, in the 

 same way, get entangled in their nests. 



Lice. — The parasite insects by which these little 

 prisoners are often tormented, are generally produced 

 by slovenliness. Besides frequent bathing, the cages 

 must be cleaned with much care and vigilance, and have 

 plenty of very dry sand strewed over the bottom. 

 "Wooden cages should be well washed with lime and 

 water. These lice, like bugs, retire during the day to 

 cracks and crevices, which accounts for old wooden 

 cages being often infested. To get rid of them, hollow 

 sticks or stalks of rushes are used, which must be 

 examined and changed every day. A more effectual 



