2O The Canary Book. 



I generally give a pair of birds the benefit of both com- 

 partments. If the male bird is mischievous, or troublesome to 

 the hen during incubation, I shut him off by himself; if not, 

 I allow him to remain until the hen has commenced to sit 

 again. I then shut off the cock and fledgelings from the 

 hen until the young brood can cater properly for themselves. 

 After the hen has again hatched, and when her brood are eight 

 or ten days old, I remove the fledgelings to another cage, open- 

 ing the door of communication as before. But, before doing so, 

 I have found it a good plan to give the male some water in 

 which to bathe ; if he bathes, open it at once ; if he does not. 

 take a mouthful of water and spurt it well over him, for if 

 you do not take this precaution his ardour may be productive 

 of mischief. The doors in this cage are made partly of wood 

 and partly of wire, and are cut through the stay to the 

 bottom, so as to be cleaned out more easily on account of 

 it being destitute of draw-boards. The bars in this cage are 

 made of wire No. 12. As all the other belongings are clearly 

 shown in the engraving, it is unnecessary to describe them 

 further. 



Some fanciers are fond of breeding with two female canaries 

 and one male. I am no advocate for this method myself ; but 

 when it is considered desirable to adopt this plan, I would 

 recommend a cage with six compartments in place of the 

 one represented, that is, one with three compartments to 

 each flat, with communicating doors between each compart- 

 ment, so that the male bird can be run either to the right 

 or left as circumstances may require. 



There are a great many different kinds and descriptions of 

 breeding-cages; but, from my own experience, I have great 

 confidence in recommending the adoption of cages such as I 

 have endeavoured to describe and illustrate, and I am quite 

 sure they will be found to be thoroughly adapted to the re- 

 quirements of all who desire to breed either canaries or 

 canary mules. I do not recommend cornices to these cages, 

 so that other cages may, when required, be placed on the top 

 of them to economise space. 



