CANARIES. 1 1 



back the Canary has known no habitation but that of the cage ; his domestication 

 has been made almost complete : and in most cases, when he escapes, or is turned 

 loose on the wicked world, he is most anxious to return to his home ay-aiii ; missin<> 



o o 



the care and attention which any bird-keeper would naturally bestow on him. 



The Hare-mountain Canaries are divided into different grades ; the usual rule 

 being, the fewer number reared at any one breeding-house, the better the class of 

 songsters. When wholesale breeding is indulged in, the tendency is to lessen the 

 variety and sweetness of the notes. Your dealer, if an importer, usually has the 

 birds selected according to the breeding-places ; and it is well to note the difference. 



The St. Andreasberg Canary takes his name from his native village, which is 

 perched in the summit of the Harz Mountains, and a favorite resort in summer for 

 invalids suffering from troubles of the lungs and throat. Its pure, bracing air is 

 medicine for the lungs of a man, and exercises a wonderful transformation in the tone 

 of the Canary which bears the name. Added to this, years of patient and con- 

 stant training and schooling in cultivating the Canary's voice to the highest 

 degree of perfection have justly placed this class at the head of the school of sing- 

 ing Canaries. The amount of education which a well-trained singer of this class is 

 obliged to undergo would scarcely be believed. Since the increase of exportations, 

 owing to the great demand for them since they were introduced into other countries, 

 the training-places have been extended to various other localities in the Harz Moun- 

 tains, the teachers being taken from St. Andreasberg ; and at the present time 

 very choice grades of these silver-throated singers are bought in many places besides 

 that famous village. The St. Andreasberg Canary, in his native breeding-place, 

 is fed on plain rape-seed, and twice a week on the egg and Zwieback mixture. 



The methods employed in raising a brood of nestlings, to become artists in their 

 line, are interesting ; and the amount of patience expended can only be accounted 

 for by the intense love of the German for his hobby, added to the remuneration 

 obtained. In St. Andreasberg, the principal revenue of the village is derived from 

 Canary-raising. The St. Andreasberg Canary's notes were originally obtained by 

 placing a Nightingale in the breeding-room of young birds. The natural, clear- 

 toned voices quickly blended the song in with their natural notes : then the most 

 promising pupils were culled out, and trained still further, by means of other song- 

 birds. After three or four seasons of this kind of training, the Canary was ready 

 for the position of teacher, and placed in the schoolroom as instructor for the 

 young beginners. Years of this sort of training gradually raised the St. Andreas- 

 berg's song to the highest state of perfection. Look into one of these schoolrooms, 

 and see the school-teachers' boxes draped over to prevent their singing until the 

 proper hour. The young birds in another room are quietly feeding, and chirping in 

 the sunlight. The cloth covering of the teacher's box is raised in front, so that 

 a little light may be admitted ; and, after a few preliminary touches, he suddenly 

 bursts forth into such a flood of melody that the listener is fairly enraptured by the 

 delightful sounds. The young birds leave off feeding, and appear to be as delighted 

 as the human audience, and manifest their pleasure by endeavoring to imitate the 

 song "which is heard. But there is a sad failure, for many days elapse before even a 

 few notes are sung in perfection. After weeks of this training, the young birds are 

 separated ; and any of them which have the least semblance of harsh or broken 



