CANARY-BIRD. SI 



constant care of her eggs and young, for 

 so long a period of time, becomes the most 

 enfeebled. My own opinion, founded on 

 long experience, is decidedly in favour of 

 the latter conclusion, for which I give the 

 following reasons. The bird in the first 

 place has to lay her full complement of 

 eggs, on which she must set from fourteen 

 to fifteen days, during which time she is 

 deprived of exercise and often very scantily 

 fed by the male; and again, when the young 

 are produced, she has the constant labour 

 of providing for them and herself, for at 

 least three, and sometimes four, weeks 

 more. She is then consequently more 

 injured than the other hen, who has none 

 of this fatigue, and is enabled to fly about 

 and retain her strength, for the sole arid 

 comparatively trifling labour of laying. 

 When your hen is, as I before remarked, 

 scantily fed by the male, or he refuses, or 

 neglects to attend to her and the young, 

 you will see her leave her nest and beat 

 him for his unhusband-like behaviour, and 



