ilOO 



PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. 



Part III. 



7563. Of singing birds, a great variety are domesticated ; and their breeding and rear- 

 ing forms a very peculiar and curious branch of rural economy. Not only all the birds 

 which please by the natural song are domesticated and kept in cages, as the canary, 

 nightingale, lark, linnet, finch, thrush, &c. ; but even some which do not sing in a wild 

 state, as the sparrow, hammer, &c., are by art taught the notes of other birds. 



7564. Wild singing birds are caught by various devices, according to the species of bird and season of 

 the year. The pairing season in spring, generally March and April, is on the whole the best season, and 

 the common means are a net called a cl ip-trap ; a bird of the species to be caught, called a call-bird, to 

 attract the wild one ; and another, a female, called a brace-bird, liird-lime is also very generally used ; 

 and for nightingales, a small hole dug in the ground covered with a perforated board, or a small round 

 spring trap, called a nightingale trap, is resorted to. Glasses called larkers are useil to call larks, and 

 hawks are used to frighten some species, to render them more rea<iily taken Ai it is only the male birds 

 which sing, or at least are of any value for their song, it is a very material part of the bird fancier's art to 

 know the male from the female when they are both young; in general he is larger and longer. 

 75Cy5. In breeding and rearing tame birds the chief art consists in teaching them to sing. This is fre- 

 quently done by the human voice alone, but more 

 commonly by the aid of the flageolet or a small barrel 

 organ. 'l"he organ is used in Germany in teaching 

 the nightingale-notes to the canary; and in teaching 

 regular tunes, as marches, waltzes, &c. to the bulfinch, 

 which after being so taught are called piping bul. 

 finches, and cost from bl. to 7 or 8 guineas each in 

 London. In Italy the canary is taught various notes 

 and tunes by thg flageolet. In France, and also in 

 this country, one bird is taught by another being placed 

 in a cage near it. When not taught at all, and not 

 within the hearing of other birds, each bird utters its 

 natural notes but very imperfectly. In general they 

 are more ready to imitate the note of any bird they 

 hear, even of a hen oi^diick, than to utter those which 

 are natural to the species. This certainly appears 

 singular, but it is a well known fact. 



75t)6. The nvinry, or place for breeding and keeping 

 singing birds, may be a long narrow apartment front- 

 ing the south ; the front to be covered with wire 

 netting, and within this glass sashes which may be 

 removed in summer. There should also be a flue in 

 the floor or back wall to supply heat in coUi weather. 

 In such a building various birds may be kept in cages, 

 or a few sorts in compartments. I'hus a considerable 

 space may be allotted to the breeding of the canary, 

 for which there is the greatest demand ; the next 

 largest to the linnet and nightingale ; and any others may be kept in cages. Indeed, V/^// 

 singing bird;; are invariably found to sing best when kept in separate cages, and apart 

 from each other. In gardens or pleasure-grounds these cages may be suspended from 

 trees, or supported by light iron props ifigs. 954, 955.) ; and those who would wish to 

 pursue this branch, either as one of amusement or profit, will find ample instructions 

 in Tliomson's Bird Fancier, and other similar works. 



7567. Foreign aquatic birds may be kept in the artificial waters of 

 pleasure-grounds by shortening the feathers of one wing, and without 

 any other care than a duck-house or shelter during night. 



7568. The training of hawks and other birds fur hunting, of decoy birds of different sorts, 

 as ducks, singing birds, pigeons, &c., belongs more to sportmanship than agriculture, and 

 may be learned in Daniel's Rural Sports, and various old books, such as The Country 

 Gentleman s liecreation, &c. 



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Chap. X. 

 Fish and Amphibious Animals subjected to Cultivation* 



7569. The cidtivation of fsh is carried on to a very limited extent in Britain, owing 

 to the great superiority of the sorts obtained by fishing in rivers or the sea, and to the de- 

 cline of the catholic religion, which no longer renders fish an article of importance on cer- 

 tain days and seasons. However, in a few places fish are bred and reared for the market, 

 and in gentlemen's grounds in the interior of the country some attention is generally paid 

 to stocking the ornamental pieces of water with appropriate fish. Bakewell, in his in- 

 structive Travels in the Tarantaise, suggests the idea of introducing exotic fish and natu- 

 ralising them in our lakes and rivers, and he mentions some Swiss species that he thinks 

 would be particularly valuable. In the Edinburgh Review for 1822, is a curious paper 

 on the possibihty of rearing sea-fish in our fresh water lakes. See also Brande's Quarterly 

 Journal, Nos. x'xxiii. and xxxiv. It appears that the flounder and the mullet have 

 been naturalised to fresh water ; and that it is probable the whole of the fishes of 

 analogous habits, and particularly those of the genus Pleuronectes, might be habituated 

 to inland lakes. 



7570. The mode of constructing ponds for retaining water for general purposes has been already 

 described. (4467.) Ponds, expressly for the purpose of breeding and rearing fish, are formed at leas*: 

 expense in deep valleys, and slight depressions between hills, where there are rivers or waters; ana 



