CANARY CULTURE 189 



When about nine or ten weeks old, the young 

 bird moults its first feathers completely, and ac- 

 quires the plumage of adult canaryhood. At this 

 period the owner devotes all the cosmetic experi- 

 ence acquired in a thousand generations of canary- 

 colouring to artificially darkening and enriching the 

 tint of, the new feathers. Probably there is no other 

 creature in the world, not excluding the beauties of 

 the East, which goes so thoroughly into training to 

 gain a complexion ; for the moult lasts for a couple 

 of months, and during the whole time the cosmetic 

 process is never neglected. It consists entirely in feed- 

 ing the bird on food containing yellow colouring 

 matter, mainly from natural vegetable dyes. The first 

 step is to induce it to eat the flowers of marigolds. 

 Canaries, like most other finches, are fond of pulling 

 to pieces and eating the petals of flowers, and there is 

 seldom much difficulty in teaching them to eat the 

 brilliant blossoms. No morsel of green leaves is 

 allowed in the cage, but fresh marigolds are given as 

 long as they will touch them, the ardent " fancier " 

 being recommended to grow the flowers in relays in 

 his garden. Saffron-cake and saffron-water form the 

 solid and liquid accompaniments of the marigold 

 flowers, to which cayenne-pepper is sometimes added. 

 This gives an almost scarlet shade to some of the 

 feathers, but sometimes injures the health of the bird. 

 But saffron seems perfectly harmless, and the canary 

 eats and drinks the yellow-dyed food as gaily as the 

 sparrows steal the saffron fibres from the crocuses 

 themselves in the early spring. Various patent colour- 



