3.U 



CANARY BIRD. 



meet with in (heir course, and inundate the coun- 

 try to a tearful extent. At other times, they are 

 '1 by the plague of locusts, which devour 

 every green thing on the earth, uttuclc the palms, 

 and strip the trees of their bark. 



The chief produce of Teneriffe, and that for 

 A-liieh it is most famed, is a celebrated wine, of 

 \\Ineh great quantities are annually exported. 

 Sugar has also been cultivated here to a considerable 

 extent ; and the silk-worm is reared by the inha- 

 bitants, but not in any great number : tropical 

 fruits also of every description grow here in great 

 abundance. Another of their exports is orchil, a 

 substance used by dyers ; and in former times a 

 great quantity of a wine called Malmsey was made 

 in this island. At present, owing to its lying so 

 far out of the usual track of voyagers, its exports 

 are very trifling, if we except the wine to which it 

 gives a name, and its orchil, which is esteemed ex- 

 cellent. We may also mention a kind of filtering- 

 stone brought from Grand Canary. 



The geological character of the whole of these 

 islands proves them to be of volcanic origin, and 

 their surface is composed of lavas of different 

 kinds, while the craters of extinct volcanoes are 

 visible in many places. In TenerifTe, the whole of 

 the earth is said to be impregnated with sulphur. 

 The island itself is a collection of mountains of 

 various heights, in the midst of which is seen 

 towering the gigantic peak, casting its evening 

 shadow over the surface of the ocean for leagues 

 in extent ; and, while the shades of evening are 

 hanging over the lower part of the island, having 

 its summit lighted up by the rays of the setting 

 sun. Among the numerous volcanoes which, in 

 the lapse of time, have become wholly or partially 

 extinct, the peak of Teneriffe is celebrated for its 

 great altitude, its singular form, audits conspicuous 

 and isolated situation. Its summit is between 12 

 and 13,000 feet above the level of the sea, and its 

 conical crest can be seen in the air from the dis- 

 tance of 150 miles. The summit of the peak has 

 at different periods been reached by adventurous 

 travellers. 



There are no rivulets or springs in the island of 

 Ferro, the westmost of the Canaries, except on a j 

 part of the beach which is nearly inaccessible. To | 

 supply the place of a fountain, however, nature, 

 ever bountiful, has bestowed upon this island a | 

 species of tree, unknown to all other parts of the 

 world. It is of moderate size, and its leaves are 

 straight, long, and evergreen. Around its summit 

 a small cloud perpetually rests, which so drenches 

 the leaves with moisture, that they continually dis- 

 til upon the ground a stream of fine clear water. 

 To these trees, as to perennial springs, the inhabi- 

 tants of Ferro resort ; and are thus supplied with 

 an abundance of water for themselves and for their 

 cattle. The trunk of this tree is about nine feet 

 in circumference, the branches are not higher than 

 thirty feet from the ground ; the circumference of 

 all the branches together is one hundred and twenty 

 feet; the branches are thick, and extended, the 

 leaves being about three teet nine inches from the 

 ground. Its fruit is shaped like that of the oak, 

 but tastes like the kernel of a pine-apple, and the 

 leaves resemble those of the laurel, but are longer, 

 wider, and curved. 



CANARY BIRD, (a. to the account of the 

 Canary in the article Finch.") The original stock of 

 this bird is said to have been imported from the 

 Canary isles about the fourteenth century ; but the 



wild birds found t'lere hear little resemblance, in 

 song iind plumage, to the do.nestic Canary. 



There arc two distinct species of Canaries, the 

 plain and variegated; or, us they are technically 

 called, the gay spangles, or meully; and jonks, or 

 jonquils. These two varieties are more esteemed by 

 amateurs, than any of the numerous varieties which 

 have sprung from them; and, although birds of 

 different feathers have their admirers, some prefer- 

 ring beauty of plumage, others excellence of song, 

 certainly that bird is most desirable where both 

 are combined. The first property of tin se birds 

 consists in the cap, which ought to be of fine 

 orange colour, pervading every part of the body, 

 except the tail and wings, and possessing the ut- 

 most regularity, without any black feathers, as, by 

 the smallest speck, it loses the property of a show- 

 bird, and is considered 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, 

 as a single white feather in the wing or tail CHUMS 

 it to be termed a foul bird ; the requisite number 

 of these feathers in each wing is eighteen, and in 

 the tail twelve. It is, however, frequently ob- 

 served, that the best-coloured birds are foul in 

 one or two feathers, which reduce their value. 



The dispositions of Canaries are as various as 

 their colours; some are gay, sportive, and delight 

 in mirth and revelry, while others are sullen, in- 

 tractable, and lazy. Some cocks are most assiduous 

 in assisting the hen to build her nest, and even to 

 hatch the eggs, while others will destroy the eggs, 

 or tear the young from the nest, and kill them in 

 their rage: the gray ones will never build, and the 

 person who superintends these must make a nest 

 for them. 



Syme seems to think that these birds might be 

 naturalized to our climate, having seen a pair flying 

 about at liberty, probably, an experiment to try if 

 they would breed : and he thinks they had built a 

 nest, from their being repeatedly observed flying in 

 and out at one spot, on the precipitous bank at St 

 Bernard's Well, near Edinburgh. 



A small breeding-cage is all that is required for 

 rearing these birds; but where a room can be al- 

 lotted to the purpose, it ought to have shrubs for 

 them to roost and build, with plenty of water to 

 drink and bathe in, that being indispensable for all 

 birds. The light should be admitted into the room 

 from the east, for the benefit of the morning sun, 

 and the windows should have wire-cloth, that they 

 may enjoy the fresh air. The floor of the apart- 

 ment ought to be strewed with sand or white 

 gravel, and on that should be thrown groundsel, 

 chickweed, or scalded rape-seed ; but when breed- 

 ing, they should have nothing except hard chopped 

 eggs, dry bread, cake without salt, and, once in 

 two or three days, a few poppy-seeds. About the 

 15th of April, they ought to be furnished with flax, 

 soft hay, wool, hair, moss, and other dry materials, 

 for building the nest, which usually occupies three 

 days; but when the hen has sat eight or nine days, 

 it is necessary to examine the eggs, holding them 

 carefully by the ends, against the sun or a lighted 

 candle, and to throw away the clear ones. When 

 the young are to be reared by the stick, they must 

 be taken from the mother on the eighth day, taking 

 nest and all. Prior to this, the food should con- 

 sist of a paste composed of boiled rape-seed, the 

 yolk of an egg, and crumbs of cake unsalted, mix- 

 ed with a little water : this must be given every 

 two hours. This paste ought not to Oe too wet, 



