300 THE CANARY. 



voice, and difficulty of breathing, the result of asthma ; the best 

 remedy for this disorder is sponge cake soaked in sherry -wine, 

 and a few wild plantain leaves inserted in the cage every day. 



For perspiration the same treatment as that recommended 

 by BECHSTEIN is the mode of cure. 



Cancer is a fatal disease, said to be very prevalent among Cana- 

 ries, and seemingly contagious, always attacking the bird in the 

 foot or the bill, which become much swollen. The curative pro- 

 cess is to keep the cage constantly clean, so that no particles of 

 dust or dirt may adhere to the schirrhus part, and to bathe it fre- 

 quently with sweet almond or olive oil, and wash with lukewarm 

 milk. 



Costiveness. See BECHSTEIN on " Constipation;" rape-seed, 

 chick-weed, and lettuce-leaf, with a piece of sugar-candy in the 

 water. 



Want of appetite usually occurs after breeding, moulting, or 

 other sickness : in this case, take a handful of millet, canary, 

 rape, yellow, -and a little hemp -seed, mixed with the same quan- 

 tity of moistened garden loam ; knead well together, then dry 

 the composition, and cut up into small pieces, and give to the 

 bird as required. Will keep good a great length of time. 



Broken Limbs : When a bird meets with an accident of this 

 sort, it should be taken very tenderly and placed in a cage with- 

 out perches, with a little soft hay, and his seed-box and water- 

 fount on the floor of the cage, which should be covered round 

 with a cloth, so that the bird may not be excited to move and 

 flutter about ; Nature will then do its work, and generally ef- 

 fect a cure in a few days. 



Decline : It sometimes happens that a hen bird, which is kept 

 from breeding, will fall sick and die, without exhibiting any 

 symptoms of disease. This arises from being denied the society 

 of the male bird. 



We have now given what we imagine a tolerably complete 

 list of the ills and casualties of Canary life in a state of con- 

 finement, with their appropriate remedies, and we shall, in the 

 words of our American author, " close the section by recom- 

 mending the amateur, or professional fancier, to keep a sepa- 

 rate or hospital cage, for those which happen to be sick. This 

 should be made of wood, with dark sides and a wicker front, 

 covered inside with thick flannel. Most of the diseases which 

 attack the Canary are contagious, and if the sick be kept in 

 the same cage or apartment with healthy birds, they may cause 

 the loss of an entire collection. Besides, they require differ- 

 ent food and more agreeable treatment than those in a good 

 state of health. " The following is this author's receipt for making^ 



