THE CANARY. 16? 



3. Sweating. There are some females which, during the time of in- 

 cubation, or while they are on their young, are subject to profuse perspira- 

 tion ; the feathers of the belly are in consequence so wet as to destroy the 

 brood : as soon as this indisposition is perceived the invalid must be washed 

 with salt water, and after a few minutes be plunged into pure water, to 

 wash off the salt, and be dried in the sun as quickly as possible. This 

 operation is to be repeated once or twice a day till recovery; but as re- 

 lapses are frequent, it is better to separate the female, and not allow her 

 to sit. 



4. Asthma, or hard breathing, which arises from an oppressed stomach, 

 generally yields to plantain and rape seeds moistened with water as the sole 

 food. 



5. Sneezing, produced by an obstruction in the nostrils, is removed by 

 passing a very small quill up them to clear them. 



6. Loss of voice. It sometimes happens that after moulting a male 

 suffers the loss of its voice ; it must then be fed with the same paste as is 

 prepared for young birds, adding some lettuce-seed, and, according to some 

 bird-fanciers, a bit of bacon should be hung to the cage, for it to peck. 



7. Constipation. The remedy for this is plenty of green food, as lettuce 

 leaves, watercress, &c. , not forgetting bread and milk. 



8. Epilepsy, which is common among many kinds of birds, may be pro- 

 duced in canaries by particular causes, as great delicacy and timidity. We 

 should therefore avoid alarming them, either by catching them too suddenly 

 or violently, or by tormenting them in any way. They are to be cured as 

 has been already directed in the Introduction. 



9. Overgrown claws and beak When the claws or beak want 



paring, sharp scissors must be used, and care taken to avoid drawing blood, 

 lest the bird should be maimed. They often injure themselves when their 

 claws are too long, and get hooked in the wires of the cage, and continue 

 thus hanging. The females, in the same way, get entangled in their 

 nests. 



10. Lice. The parasite insects by which these little prisoners are often 

 tormented, are generally produced by slovenliness. Besides frequent 

 bathing, the cages must be cleaned with much care and vigilance, and 

 have plenty of very dry sand strewed over the bottom. These lice, like 

 bugs, retire during the day to cracks and ' crevices, which accounts for old 

 wooden cages being often infested. To get rid of them, hollow sticks or 

 stalks of rushes are used, which must be examined and changed every day. 

 The plan is good, but by using only tin cages, which may, more easily than 

 any others, be passed through boiling water, the object is more certainly 

 attained. 



It is rare for canaries which are kept for breeding to live longer than from 

 seven to ten years ; while others, if well used, may be preserved for 

 eighteen or twenty years. 



ATTRACTIVE QUALITIES. The plumage, pretty form, and docility, the 

 charming familiarity which disposes it to nestle without fear or reserve 

 beside us, as well as its melodious song, have long introduced the canary 

 to all classes of society. Always before our eyes, the object of the most 

 assiduous care, and constant attention, it has afforded a thousand occasions 



