THE CANARY. J63 



as soon as she has laid, the male should be moved into the other division, 

 the door of separation being shut ; but as soon as the other has also laid, 

 the door may be left open : the male will then visit the females alter- 

 nately, and they will not trouble themselves about each other; but with- 

 out these precautions jealousy would incline them to fight, and destroy 

 each other's eggs. When it is intended to place a great many females, 

 double or treble the number of males, in a room or aviary, the latter 

 should always be first paired with a single female, which will ever after 

 remain the favourite ; and it will only be when she is about to sit that he 

 will pair with the others, and this is all the notice he will take of them, for 

 afterwards he will only notice their young. It is from these mothers, 

 however, that the most and the best birds are generally procured. 



If the floor of the room or aviary is well covered with moss, little else 

 need be added for making the nests, otherwise they should be supplied 

 with the hair of cows and deer, hogs' bristles, fine hay, lint, wool cut two 

 or three inches long, paper shavings, and the like. That which is coarsest 

 serves for the outside, and the softest and finest for the inside. If they 

 have shrubs, traces of the natural instinct of the canary are soon observed 

 in the nests which they construct without the help of the turner or basket 

 weaver ; but they are of an inelegant form, and the outside is not very 

 carefully finished. The females alone, as is usual among birds, are the 

 Uuilders, the males only choosing the situation and bringing the materials. 

 It is in the nest, where the female is in continual motion, that the pairing 

 takes place ; she invites the male by constant little chirpings, repeated 

 more quickly the nearer she is to laying. Seven or eight days are gene- 

 rally reckoned from the first pairing to the laying of the first egg; the other 

 eggs, whose number varies, without exceeding six, are laid successively 

 every following day, and often at the same hour. The laying ended, pairing 

 continues during the first days of incubation. 



If the pairs agree, they must be left entirely to themselves, without en- 

 deavouring to use art to help nature, as many do. It is usual to take away 

 the first egg and substitute an ivory one, which is repeated with the others to 

 the last, preserving them in the mean time in a box filled with fine dry sand ; 

 they are afterwards restored all together to the nest to be hatched *. 



The females lay three or four times a year, from April till September ; 

 there are some even so prolific that moulting does not stop them. The 

 eggs, of a sea-green colour, are at one end more or less spotted or marked 

 with maroon or violet. The period of incubation is thirteen days. 



If, owing to the weakness of the mule or female, it is suspected that 

 some of the eggs are barren, they should on the eighth day be examined by 

 holding them lightly between the fingers in the sunshine or before a candle ; 



* This practice is not according to nature, which we can rarely oppose without 

 inconvenience. " This plan causes the mother a greater loss of heat, and burdens 

 her at once with five or six little ones, which coming together, disturb rather than 

 please her ; whilst in seeing them hatched successively one after the other, her 

 pleasure is increased and supports her strength and courage. Very intelligent 

 bird-fanciers assure us, that by not removing the eggs from the female, and leaving 

 them to be hatched in succession, they have always succeeded better than when 

 substituting ivory eggs." Bnffon. TRANSLATOR. 

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