16 



The best singers have been raised, within the last 

 century, on the Harz Mountain, in the kingdom of 

 Hanover, and in Thuringia, in Saxony, and have be- 

 come quite an article of merchandise. They raise an- 

 nually no less than fifty thousand in that country 

 which are disposed of over the greater part of the earth, 

 and sometimes at extraordinary prices. In the present 

 year (1853), there were no less than ten thousand 

 German canaries brought over to the United States.* 



The manner they are bred there is as follows : a room 

 of about 10 to 15 feet square is chosen ; plenty of nest- 

 boxes are hung around the walls, and perches placed 

 across the room. Then they put in 6 to 10 males, and 

 about three times as many females. The month of March 

 is when they are mated, so as to have three or four 

 broods, one each month in succession. 



The young ones, so soon as they are able to feed 

 themselves, are taken away and put into another room, 

 where they are left flying about until the dealer makes 

 his purchase — which is as soon as they are done shed- 

 ding, and fit to be transported, say in the month of 

 October. The dealer now examines the birds and se- 

 lects those he thinks best suited for his market ; as to 

 the price, it varies according to the singing qualities 

 and plumage, often bringing nearly double as much as 

 the general run. This always raises a great excitement 



* Since the above, the fancy has increased so much in this 

 country, that in the last year, 1871, sixty thousand canary 

 birds found their way to this market, of which forty-eight 

 thousand were imported by ourselves. 



