THE SPARROW KIND. 



545 



thing that stirs. If its eyes look cheerful, and 

 not drowsy, it is a sign of health; but, on the 

 contrary, if it hides its head under the wing, 

 and gathers its body up, these are symptoms 

 of its being out of order. In choosing them, 

 the melody of the song should also be mind- 

 ed: some will open with the notes of the 

 nightingale, and, running through a variety 

 of modulations, end like the tit-lark. Others 

 will begin like the sky-lark, and, by a soft 

 melodious turn, fall into the notes of the night- 

 ingale. These are lessons taught this bird 

 in its domestic state, and generally taught it 

 by others; but its native note is loud, shrill, 

 piercing, and enough to deafen the hearers. 

 There are persons who admire each of these 

 .songs, but the second is in the most general 

 estimation. 



Canary-birds sometimes breed all the year 

 round; but they most usually begin to pair 

 in April, and to breed in June and August. 

 Those are said to be the best breeders that 

 are produced between the English and the 

 French. 



Towards the latter end of March, a cock 

 arid a hen should be put together in a small 

 cage, where they will peck at each other in 

 the beginning, but will soon become thorough- 

 ly reconciled. The room where they are 

 kept to breed should be so situated as to let 

 the birds have the benefit of the morning sun, 

 and the windows should be of wire, not glass, 

 that they may enjoy the benefit of the air. 

 The floor of the room should be kept clean, 

 and sometimes there should be dry gravel or 

 sand sifted upon it. There should also be 

 two windows, one at each end, and several 

 perches at proper distances for the birds to 

 settle on, as they fly backwards and forwards. 

 A tree in the middle of the room would be 

 the most convenient to divert the birds, and 

 sometimes to serve for building their nests 

 upon. 



In Germany they prepare a large room, and 

 build it in the manner of a barn, being much 

 longer than broad, with a square place at 

 each end, and several holes to go into those 

 square places. In those outlets they plant 

 several sorts of trees, in which the birds take 

 great delight to sing and breed. The bot- 

 tom of the place they strew with sand, and 

 upon it cast rape-seed, chick-weed, and 



groundsel, which the old birds feed upon 

 while breeding. In the body of the house 

 they put all sorts of stuff for building the nest, 

 and brooms, one under the other, in all the 

 corners, for the birds to build in. These 

 they separate by partitions from each other, 

 to prevent those above flying down upon, or 

 otherwise incommoding, such as breed below. 

 The light also is excluded, for no bird is fond 

 of having light come to its nest. 



With us the apparatus for breeding is less 

 expensive; a little breeding-cage sometimes 

 suffices, but seldom any thing more extensive 

 than a small room. While the birds are 

 pairing, it is usual to feed them with soft meat; 

 that is, bread, maw-seed, a little scalded rape- 

 seed, and near a third part of an egg. The 

 room should be furnished with stuff for ma- 

 king their nests; such as fine hay, wool, cot- 

 ton, and hair. These materials should be 

 thoroughly dry, and then mixed and tied to- 

 gether in such a manner that the birds may 

 readily pull out what they want. This should 

 be hung in a proper part of the room, and 

 the male will take his turn in building the 

 nest, sitting upon the eggs, and feeding the 

 young. They are generally two or three 

 days in building their nests; the hen com- 

 monly lays five eggs ; and in the space of 

 fourteen days the young will be excluded. 

 So prolific are these birds sometimes, that 

 the female will be ready to hatch a second 

 brood before the first are able to quit the 

 nest. On these occasions she leaves the nest 

 and the young, to provide herself with ano- 

 ther to lay her new brood in. In the mean 

 time the male, more faithful to the duties of 

 his trust, breeds up the young left behind, 

 and fits them for a state of independence. 



When the young ones are excluded, the 

 old ones should be supplied with a sufficien- 

 cy of soft food every day, with likewise fresh 

 greens, such as cabbage, lettuce, and chick- 

 weed; in June, shepherd's purse; and in 

 July and August, plantain. They are never 

 to have groundsel after the young are exclu- 

 ded. With these different delicacies the old 

 ones will take particular care to feed and 

 bring up their young ; but it is usual when 

 they can feed themselves, to be taken from 

 the nest and put into cages. Their meat 

 then is the yolk of an egg boiled hard, with 



