CANARIES 



157 



don't worry. On the evening of the 3rd 

 egg put them all back in the nest. She 

 ought to start then and sit, they should 

 all hatch together on the 14th morn. If 

 the male bird is quiet he need not be re- 

 moved, but if he is too gay he had bet- 

 ter be put the other side of the slide 

 until the young are one week old, when 

 he can be put back and take his share in 

 feeding and raising the family. As soon 

 as the young leave the nest, the hen will 

 be ready to lay again. By the time the 

 second ones are one week old, the male 

 bird can be returned again, as the first 

 young ones will be able to feed them- 

 selves, and must be turned into a long 

 flight cage, where they will have plenty 

 of room for exercise. All the while the 

 birds have young they should be fed on 

 egg and bread food or ground crackers ; 

 nearly all egg when birds are first 

 hatched, then increase the crackers as 

 the young get older, also plenty of green 

 food every day. Don't take their other 

 seed away. They are also very fond of 

 wild seeds, partly ripe, which is one of 

 nature's foods for young birds. Soaked 

 seed is also good, but it soon sours in 

 this country. Everything must be kept 

 <?s clean as possible, scalding all nesting 

 materials, and be always on the lookout 

 for the red mite. It is a good plan to 

 dust the nest, when she begins to sit, 

 with insect powder, also a day before 

 she hatches. 



I hope by following instructions "in 

 these few lines you will be able to raise 

 quite a family. 



GERMAN CANARIES At my request 

 Mr. J. C. Edwards, manager of "Bird- 

 land," Los Angeles, California, kindly 

 sends me the following: 



The people who have devoted greatest 

 attention to the rearing of canaries are 

 the Germans. By them the cultivation 

 of the singing qualities of the bird has 

 been almost the exclusive desideratum, 

 no particular reference being made to 

 beauty of plumage, shape or size. The 

 finest singers in the world are the 

 trained German birds. 



The length of the Germany canary is 

 about five and one-half inches, the color 

 varying from pure yellow to a yellow- 

 ish f^reen. The birds are sometimes mot- 

 tled or crested, for, as before stated, 

 their breeding has entire reference to 

 their song and not to their plumage. 



In many districts of Germany the 

 breeding of canaries is the principal oc- 

 cupation of the people, but the "Hartz 

 Mountain" region surpasses all others 

 in this business. The choicest breed is 



reared on the summit of the mountain 

 in the little hamlet of "St. Andreas- 

 berg," where the bird education is car- 

 ried to a degree that can scarcely be 

 understood by the general public in this 

 country. Every facility is given for the 

 young birds to acquire the cultured 

 notes of well-selected singers. Various 

 mechanical devices are employed to in- 

 troduce long trills, and flute notes and 

 other oddities in song. From three to 

 six months of constant training is need- 

 ed to bring the young songsters to per- 

 fection. St. Andreasberg Rollers is the 

 name of these canaries. 



German canaries being bred by thou- 

 sands of small breeders all over Ger- 

 many, no one can tell just how many 

 are produced annually. Our eastern im- 

 porters dispose of over three hundred 

 thousand of these birds in this country 

 every year. Personally, I cannot see 

 why we do not produce our own birds. 

 We excel all foreign countries in su- 

 perior poultry, horses, flowers, and by 

 giving the matter the attention required 

 we should be able to breed in time as 

 good, if not better, songsters than any 

 of the imported. There are thousands 

 of people in this country raising poultry 

 that they are selling for $1 a head land 

 think they are doing well. Canaries 

 can be produced for less than chickens, 

 and will always bring more than a dol- 

 lar. There is always a demand for good 

 songsters and any one that will take up 

 this matter on a sensible commercial 

 basis can do well with it. 



The rearing of young ibrds is a task 

 in which all will not be equally success- 

 ful, but it is safe to say that by follow- 

 ing a few simple directions success will 

 be assured. The breeding of canaries 

 may be commenced about the middle of 

 February and continued till midsum- 

 mer, one pair raising several broods if 

 permitted. However, continuing the 

 breeding season too long is not advis- 

 able, as it will prove detrimental to the 

 health of the birds. 



The cage in which the breeding takes 

 place should be roomy, sixteen inches in 

 length is the smallest and ten inches in 

 width, but larger cages result in better, 

 healthier birds. The cage should be hung 

 against the wall or placed upon a shelf 

 some seven or eight feet from the floor 

 and facing the south. When once it 

 has become the home of the pairing 

 birds its position should not be changed, 

 nor should it be needlessly taken from 

 its place. The cage should be provided 

 with a drawer, which must be kept clean 



