n 



CANAKY-BIKD. 



CANl'KU. 



740 



be so entirely devotes herself that ihe rcpeU the carcases of her mate, 

 whoM solace she was while the deceased was sitting. 



A soon as the young break the nhell, two jan should be placed 

 near the feeding-trough. In one of these there should be a quarter 

 of a hard egg, yolk and white together, chopped very fine, with a 

 bit of crumb of white broad or biscuit, which has been soaked in 

 water, and afterwards well pressed to get out the moisture. In the 

 other jar rape-seed, well boiled and then washed in fresh water, should 

 be placed ; great care must be taken not to let this food become sour, 

 which would destroy the nestlings. The cock-bird is the principal 

 mine after hatching. 



It is sometimes necessary to bring up the young by hand, and then 

 a paste should be made of white bread or biscuit pounded very fine, 

 rape-Mod well bruised, a small quantity of the yolk of an egg, and 

 water. The nestlings must be fed with a quill cut into the shape of 

 spoon, and should not have leas than ten or twelve meals a day ; 

 four beakaful well piled up on the quill constitute a meal. On toe 

 thirteenth day they will begin to feed themselves, and in four weeks 

 they may be removed to other cages. Care however must be taken 

 to supply them for some time with the paste above described, together 

 with the food of full-grown birds, aa a sudden privation of the formes 

 has been known frequently to occasion death; especially if the 

 nestlings are deprived of it when moulting. 



Mr. Kennie says, " It sometimes happens in very dry seasons that 

 the feathers of the young birds cannot develop naturally ; a bath of 



tepid water, employed on such an occasion by Madame , was *> 



successful, that I cannot do better than recommend it The same 

 lady succeeded equally well in similar circumstances in hatching late 

 eggs ; she plunged them for some minutes in water heated to the 

 degree of incubation, and immediately replaced them under the 

 mother ; in a abort time she enjoyed the pleasure of seeing the little 

 ones make their appearance. This interesting experiment may be 

 applied to all sorts of birds, and may be particularly useful in regard 

 to those of the poultry-yard." 



About the thirteenth or fourteenth day, by which time the 

 nestlings can eat alone, the males begin to warble and so do some of 

 the females, but in a more disjointed style. The males, which may 

 then be easily distinguished, should be forthwith separated, each bird 

 being placed in a cage by himself (which must be first covered with 

 a piece of linen and afterwards with a darker curtain) apart from 

 every other bird, in order that his education may begin, if it is 

 intended that his natural song should be superseded by an artificial 

 melody ; if he is left unseparated beyond the fourteenth day he will 

 retain a portion of his father's song, and murder his acquired melody 

 by intermingling the paternal notes. His musical lesson must be 

 repeated five or sis times in the day, especially in the morning and 

 evening, hU master performing the desired air either oil a flageolet or 

 a bird-organ ; but, as has been observed in the case of the bullfinch, 

 if the instrument be not in perfect tune the whistling of a man of 

 taste is infinitely preferable. From two to six months, according to 

 the memory and the abilities of the scholar, will be spent in this 

 musical education. Some canaries have been thus taught to repeat 

 correctly two or three airs, and others have learned to pronounce 

 distincly a few short words ; for they possess great quickness and 

 correctness of ear, and have excellent memories. 



When the more natural song is preferred, those canaries are most 

 esteemed which introduce into their warbling* the notes of the night- 

 ingale, wood-lark, or tit-lark, and this may be easily accomplished by 

 placing those birds near the young canaries. The canaries of the 

 Tyrol are more frequently taught to introduce the notes of the night- 

 ingale, while those of England more frequently interweave those of 

 the wood-lark. " In Thuringia," says Bechsteiu, " the preference is 

 generally given to those which, instead of a succession of noisy bursts, 

 know how, with a silvery sonorous voice, to descend regularly through 

 all the tones of the octave, introducing from time to time the sound 

 of a trumpet. There are some males which, especially in the |>:iini!_- 

 season, sing with so much strength and ardour, that they burst the 

 delicate venek of the lungs and die suddenly." 



Canaries may be made to sing in the night some do this of their 

 own accord. The tuition must commence early in their youth b) 

 covering the cage, and thus keeping them in the dark during the day 

 long enough for them to be hungry ; they aro thus brought to feed by 

 candle-light, and at last sing. The hen birds will also sing, particularly 

 in the spring, but in an unconnected style. Old hens past breeding 

 will often sing in this way the year round. 



There are societies in London for promoting the breeding of Canaries, 

 and amateurs distinguish upwards of thirty varieties. 



Mr. Ronnie mentions two sort* of Canaries, " the plain and variegated, 

 or as they are technically called, the gay spangles or mealy, and jonks 

 or jonquils. These two varieties are more esteemed than any of the 

 numerous varieties which have sprung from them; and altlioug) 

 birds of different feathers have their admirers, some preferriiu, 

 beauty of plumage, others excellence of song, certainly that bird is 

 most desirable where both are combined. The first property of these 

 birds consists in the cap, which ought to be of fine orange-colour 

 pervading every part of the body except the tail and wings, anc 

 possessing the utmost regularity, without any black feathers, as by 

 the smallest speck it loses the property of a show bird, and is con 



aidered a broken-capped bird. The second property consists in the 

 feathers of the wing and tail being of a deep-black up to the quill, an 

 a single white feather in the wing or tail causes it to be termed n foul 

 >ird; the requisite number of these feathers in each wing U 18, and 

 n the tail 12. It is however frequently observed that the best- 

 coloured birds are foul in one or two feathers, which reduces tli.-ir 

 value, although they may still be matched to breed with." ' 

 'orm the leading features of excellence; but it U generally the custom 

 of the societies above mentioned to award the prize to the comp 

 who produces a bird nearest to the model published by then \ '.-. 

 season prior to that wherein the competitors are to show for tin- ; 



The fullest information on the subject of breeding and treating 

 the Canary will be found in Bechstein's Cage-Bird*. 



CANARY-GRASS. [PHALABIS.] 



CANCER, a genus of Short-Tailed CVtwfacra, the type of the family 

 Caauxridas. Dr. Leach restricted the genus Cancer to the form '( 

 Cancer Payuriu, Linn., the large eatable Crab of our coast*, win. li 

 was, when he defined the genus, the only species known. U In 

 following character! : 



External antenna) with the basilar joint broad, very long and thick, 

 filling the hiatus between the inner canthus of the orbit and the front, 

 and terminating forwards in a strong, angular, tooth-like proj. 

 directed forwards and a little inwards, reaching beyond the frontal 

 line. The terminal or moveable portion is slender, very short, and 

 arises from the internal part of the basilar joint nearer to the cell of 

 the internal antennae than to the orbit. The internal antenna*, instead 

 of lying obliquely outwards or transversely, as in most other genera 

 of this section, are directed forwards a character by which Cancer 

 may at once be distinguished from Plalypodin, Carpiliui, Xantho, Ac. 

 The second joint of the inner footstalk of the external pedipalps is 

 excavated at the anterior part of the inner margin ; in some species 

 the notch is confined to the angle, in others it extends half way down 

 the side of the joint. The first pair of feet is nearly equal ; in some 

 specimens of each species the difference in sue being scarcely appre- 

 ciable. They are generally very robust. The remaining feet ha\< i>.. 

 spinet), but are in most species more or less hairy. The abdomen of 

 the male has five, and that of the female seven joints. 



With the exception of our indigenous species, Cancer Pagurm. t !:,-y 

 are all, as far as their localities are known, exclusively natives of tho 

 coasts of the hotter ports of America. 



Mr. Bell, in a paper on the genus Cancer (' Zool. Trans.' i. S35), gives 

 three now species, namely, C. longipet, C. Etlwardtn, and C. drntalui, 

 brought home by Mr. Cuming and Mr. Miller, besides C. irroratiu of 

 Say, and C. Pagunu, which last, aft it was considered the type by Dr. 

 Leach, we select as an example. 



C. Pagurut is the Great Crab of the English coasts. Mr. Bell 

 gives the following description of it : Carapace transversely oblong, 

 flattened, but little higher in the middle than at the sides, some- 

 what rounded before and behind ; the surface minutely granulated, 

 smooth, with the regions but slightly marked. Latero-anterior 

 margin slightly recurved, divided into ten quadrate lobes, the sides 

 of which are contiguous and the margins entire; the last lobe 

 inconspicuous, and passing into the posterior marginal line, which 

 terminates immediately anterior to the posterior transverse ridge. 

 Front trifid, tho teeth of nearly equal length and size. Orbits 

 round, with a strong triangular tooth over the inner canthus, which 

 does not project so far as the front; and a smaller one filling the 

 space between the two superior fissures. External antenna; with 

 the basilar joint much elongated, and terminating forwards in an 

 obtuse tooth ; tho first joint of the moveable portion club-shaped, 

 the second cylindrical, the remaining portion setaceous. In' 

 antunutc directed forwards, the anterior half doubled directly back- 

 wards in a state of rest. Tho basilar joint broad, cup-shaped, its 

 outer edge projecting forwards; the second joint (the first of the 

 moveable portion) cylindrical, the penultimate with a small, hooked, 

 and recurved process at the apex. 1'odipolps as in the rest of tin; 

 genus. Sternum minutely punctated, and furnished with .-mull 

 patches or lines of short scanty hair. Abdomen in the male with the 

 margin fringed with short hair ; the lost joint forming an equilateral 

 triangle. Anterior feet large, robust, smooth, without spines or 

 tubercles, minutely granulated ; the hand rounded, without crest, the 

 inner surface exhibiting only the rudiments of the five lines of puncta, 

 so conspicuous in other species of the genus. The remaining feet 

 furnished with numerous fasciculi nf stifi" hairs, the last joint in all 

 furrowed, and terminated by a short strong nail. Colour above 

 reddish-brown, the legs more red, the claws deep shining block ; 

 beneath whitish. Locality, coasts of Great Britain, Ac., and of western 

 Europe. Great numbers are annually caught on the coasts of ' 

 Britain. They sometimes attain a large size, weighing ton or twelve 

 pounds. 



Pennant states that this species inhabits rocky coasts, and is the 

 most delicious meat of any, and that it casta its shell between 

 Christinas and Easter. "There are some species," says Milne- 

 Edwards, in his article ' Crustacea,' in the ' Cyclopaedia of Anatomy 

 and I'hysiology,' "such as the crabs and the- Hrm-hyitra generally, in 

 which the carapace presents a considerable expansion on either side, 

 forming two large compartments in which the greater mass of the 

 thoracic viscera is contained. Under these circumstances it would be 



