1883.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



171 



rous voice, to descend regularly throiigli all 

 the notes of the octave, ami the whole song 

 should consist of about twenty notes, the 

 the most admired of which are the bowtrail, 

 the bell note and woodlark note. 



To raise such birds the breeder must be a 

 good judge himself, and must not put together 

 birds having uuitleasant uotes. He should 

 also keep one or two of his very best singers 

 in separate cages near the breeding room or 

 cage, which will be the teachers of the young. 



From the 1st of June, 18M-2, to the end of 

 May, this year, i).'),000 canaries were inniorted 

 into New York, of which one lirm bought 

 85,000. 



The two varieties most prized by amateurs 

 are the Jonquil and the Meally, combining 

 the greatest beauty in color and excellence in 

 song. The long breed, or French canary, is 

 now almost out of favor, and but few of the 

 kind are to be seen in this country, although 

 they bring a much higher price owing to the 

 ifliculty in breeding them. 



This leads many people to believe that they 

 must consequently be much better singers, 

 but such is not the fact, for the song is much 

 inferior to the ethers. 



The price for male canaries varies accord- 

 ing to the size, age and song— from $2.50 up 

 to $25 each— and for females from 75 cents to 

 .$1.00. 



The canary, as a domesticated bird, is the 

 easiest of all others to take care of. The 

 treatment they require is most simple and 

 certainly the best known, but there are many 

 persons whose idess on this subject are very 

 limited, and, what is worse, very erroneous. 



As to their food, the most simple and- 

 natural it is the better and more conducive to 

 good health and clieerfulness. Mixtures such 

 as rape, millet, hemp, canary, poppy, lettuce, 

 oatmeal, oats, sugar, sweet cake, biscuit and 

 such like, so far from being wholesome, as 

 people think, are very unwholesome ; it spoils 

 their taste for natm-al food, weakens the 

 stomach, renders them feeble, sickly and in- 

 capable of bearing moulting, under which 

 they frequently die. 



The best food is a mixture of rape and 

 cancry and a little green stufi; such a chick 

 weed, lettuce or cabbage in season, or sweet 

 apple in winter. The main point, however, 

 is to obtain pure and fresh seed, _ Rape seed, 

 when old or kept to long in a damp place, be- 

 comes musty, gets a bitter taste and does not 

 agree with the birds. 'J'he best sort is the 

 German summer rape, which has a nut like 

 flavor in distinction from the English, which 

 tastes somewhat like mustard. The canary 

 seed should be clean and have a glossy hue, 

 free from musty smell and have a sweet taste. 



The cage should be daily supplied with 

 fresh water, both of bathing and drinking, 

 and the cage bottom be cleaned out at least 

 once a wiek and be covered over with dry 

 gravel, which the birds freely pick and which 

 helps digestion. 



The perches should be kept clean. The 

 birds feet should be occasionally examined 

 and if they are found dirty the bird should be 

 taken carefully out of the cage and the dirt 

 washed ofi' by soaking in lukewarm water. 



The claws, if too long, should be cut with 

 a pair of sharp scissors, care being taken not 



to draw blood : the same with an overgrown 

 bill. 



Canaries, if kept for singing alone, should 

 be placed in cages of about a foot in diameter 

 either round or square, as in large cages they 

 do not sing so well or so constantly, having 

 too much room to tly about and amu.se them- 

 selves, which takes away their attention from 

 singing. 



It is not necessary to keep these birds in a 

 very warm room in winter, as they can endure 

 a great deal of cold without injury, but tlu-y 

 should not he removed from a cold mom to a 

 warm one, or vice versa, but be kept in as 

 ecpial a temperature as possible, and free from 

 draught. 



In the summer it is well to keep the bird in 

 tlic fresh air, but shaded from the sun and 

 ram. 



They begin to pair about the middle of 

 February. The female lays from two to six 

 eggs and the time for incubation is thirteen to 

 fourteen days. While breeding they should 

 be fed with hard-boiled eggs, chopped fine, 

 yolk and white together, as well as their 

 regular seed. It is wrong to take the eggs 

 from under the hen while she is laying, as 

 many people do, for the purpose of hatching 

 them at one time. 



As soon as the little ones were hatched 

 they may be fed besides their general seed 

 with eggs boiled hard and chopped fine, and 

 an equal quantity of grated cracker mixed 

 ■with the egg into a paste. This food should 

 be given to them fresh three times a day, for 

 the old birds are more inclined to feed the 

 young when fresh food is given them. 



An extra cup containing soaked rape-seed 

 should also be given them. They also re- 

 quire fresh green food daily. 



When the young birds feed themselves and 

 are put in a compartment by themselves they 

 should still for a time be supplied with soft 

 food. 



The young males will commence warbling 

 as soon as they leave the nest and improve 

 daily for eight or nine months, when their 

 singing quality will depend very much on the 

 birds they are placed near. 



The male bird is distinguished from the 

 female by having a larger and flatter head ; its 

 color, particularly around the eye, is of a 

 brighter hue and its action also differs from 

 that of the female, but it takes an experienced 

 judge to distinguish these differences. 



The canary breeds with other birds, such 

 as goldfinches, linnets and siskins ; but for 

 this purpose a female canary nmst be taken 

 and a male of any of the species desired, for 

 the female of the latter cannot be induced to 

 lay in an artificial nest. 



If it is required to teach them any particu- 

 lar air from a flute, an organ, or other instru- 

 ment, they must be put when very young into 

 a separate apartment, in a dark place, out of 

 hearing of any otiier birds, and the air be 



played to them several times a day. 



» . 



To Clear Muddy Water.— A little dis- 

 solved alum is very effective in clearing mud- 

 dy water. If thrown into a tub of soai)suds 

 the .soap curdles, and accompanied by the 

 mud particles, sink to the bottom, leaving the 

 water aboVe clear and pure. In times of 

 scarcity of water this may be useful. 



Our Local Organizations. 



LANCASTER COUNTV AGRICULTURAL 

 AND HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Tlie County ALCri<Milliiral Society met in monthly 

 meeting on Moniiiiy iifternoon, November .5th, In 

 their rooms. 



The folIowhiK niemhers were present : John C. 

 LInvllle, Salisbury ; Joseph H. WItmcr, Paradise ; 

 Calvin Cooper, Birci-in-IIaud ; Casper Hlller, Cones- 

 toRa ; Henry M. Kngle, Marietta ; C. L. Ilunsecker, 

 Manlieim ; 8. P. Eby, J. M. Johnston, F. K. DIffen. 

 diTlIer, Holiert B. Hisk, Dr. W. D. Bollinger, city ; 

 M. D. Kendie, Manor; Levi S. Relet, Manhclm, 

 Simon A. Hershey, Salun^a. 



In the aljsence of President Rush, Vice President 

 Engle look the cliair. 



Reports of Committees. 



Levi a. Relet had been at the Berk county fair. 

 The exIilblMon of apples was unusually fine. So was 

 that of pears. The grape exhibit was also good. 

 The mechanical department was well filled. The 

 Block exhibit was fairly good. The fair on the 

 whole was up to the average in that county. 



C. L. Hunsecker was also there and thought the 

 fair a very reepectable one. The machinery exhibit 

 was large. The horses, sheep and cattle were not so 

 fine. The fruit, especially the apple, show was One. 

 Potatoes and corn made a fine appearance. There 

 was little drunkennees. 



M. D. Kendig, who visited the York county fair, 

 reported a good attendance, and the fair ae one of 

 the most successful in every particular ever held by 

 the County Agricultural Society. The exhlbite of 

 all kinds were large and fine. The fruits were nu- 

 merous of excellent character. The grapes were 

 especially fine. Apples seem very plenty over there. 



John C. Linville was at the exhibition held ly the 

 Octoraro Farmers' Club, and reported one of the 

 finest displays of vegetables he ever saw. This was 

 he first fair held by this club. 



Crop Reports. 



Joseph C. Witmcr reported wheat looking very 

 well everywhere. The corn crop Is good, but not 

 quite equal to last year's. There is still a good deal 

 to husk. Late pasture is good. Has noticed no fly 

 in the wheat so far. Farmers are late with seeding. 



M. D. Kendig reported a good growth in wheat 

 under the favorable weather of the fall. Therein 

 fall for October was ''> t-10 inches. 



J. C. Linville said wheat is unusually line. Much 

 was sown in October— much later than usual. There 

 is much soft corn, but the crop is generally good, 

 nevertheless. 



H. M. Engle reported seeding very late, but wheat 

 now looks well. Corn is a full crop. Clover is 

 ftbuudant. Late potatoes fhow considerable rot. 



Mr. Casper Hiller read the following essay on 

 Corn Culture. 



We have again passed through a year's experience 

 it corn culture, and we may sum up the causes of 

 our failures and successes. We started out in the 

 early season with unfavorable weather, and with a 

 great deal of defective seed; indeed, this bad seed 

 at first seriously threatened the prospect of a good 

 crop, but owing to the favorable condition of the 

 weather, the replanting and even the re- replanting 

 made some corn. There is, however, no question 

 but that had the seed been uniformly good, we 

 would have many more bushels of corn. This ques- 

 tion of good seed demands our serious attention. 



Our corn in the cribs is even in worse condition 

 than it was last fall, and very little will come out 

 nex' spring fit to plant. Seed corn, if not already 

 selected, should be attended to immediately, and 

 should be put in a dry place, where It will thorougly 

 dry before cold weather sets In. 



I can report failures and successes this year. Our 

 main plot (several acres), may be called a failure. 

 Cause, bad seed, some root lice, and serious floods. 

 To the last the main cause of failure may be attri- 

 buted (the lot being quite hilly). 



