Miscellaneous. 197 



MULE HENS BEARING CANARIES. I have known mule 

 hens pair readily with cock canaries, and have eggs, but they 

 are never fruitful; but if you give them a sitting of fruitful 

 canary eggs they will hatch and rear them. They almost 

 invariably prove to be good foster parents. 



BUYING BIRDS. "When a person living at a distance from a 

 well-known fancier or other person wishes to buy some of his 

 birds, it is customary after the bargain is made for the pur- 

 chaser to send a P.0.0. for the amount before the birds are 

 sent off. Where two fanciers are well known to each other 

 this is not always insisted upon, but, in either case, the birds 

 sent travel at the risk of the purchaser, unless it is agreed 

 that they are sent on approval or return, when they travel at 

 the risk of the vendor, provided there is no agreement to the 

 contrary. If birds meet with an accident in transit, the rail- 

 way companies are responsible, particularly where an un- 

 reasonable amount of delay in transmission has taken place, 

 as they charge 50 per cent, as a risk-rate for all live stock; 

 but, although they do this, they endeavour to repudiate their 

 responsibility, and strive to limit their liability to 5s. a bird ; 

 this is simply preposterous. In some cases, railway companies 

 insist upon the senders of live stock signing a Consignment 

 Note to this effect, and refuse to accept and send the birds 

 without this regulation is complied with. I do not think they 

 are justified in this proceeding, and my advice to fanciers is, 

 if compelled to do so, to sign the document under protest, 

 and above the signature write the words : " Signed under 

 protest." Fifty per cent, is a very large risk-rate. For an 

 additional payment of one penny over the ordinary rate of 

 postage, the Post Office authorities guarantee a payment of 

 5 on all valuable articles duly registered, and for twopence, 

 10. Surely, then, a railway company, whose least charge for 

 a bird going any distance is 6d. and, in cases of long 

 distances, 2s. or more, although the packet weigh less than a 

 pound can afford to pay reasonable compensation, for the 

 risk, if the bird be well packed, is not great. Despite the 

 railway companies' bye-laws, which are> not always legal, any 



