282 THE CANABT. 



nestlings; others, again, so ardent, as to teaze the female during 

 the time of incubation, to tear the nest, break the eggs, or 

 induce the mate to forsake her eggs or nestlings. The females, 

 too, have their faults. Some forsake their eggs as soon as 

 laid, and begin to pair again ; others, are inattentive in feeding 

 their young, or even bite them, and pull at their feathers, so 

 that they die a miserable death ; others lay their eggs at too 

 long intervals, or are so much exhausted by the effort, as to be 

 unable to give them the requisite attention afterwards. For 

 all these faults, various corrections have been proposed, but I 

 have found none of them effectual in every case ; and it is best 

 for the amateur to get rid of such birds as I have described, 

 and to supply their places with others. 



To procure handsome young ones, the best method is to 

 allow only such birds to pair as are both of the same colour, 

 and themselves clearly marked; though of course, in large 

 aviaries, when the birds pair promiscuously, this precaution 

 cannot be taken. Greenish or brownish, paired with light 

 yellow birds, often produce very handsome offspring. One 

 rule, however, may be laid down as invariable ; not to allow 

 two crested birds to pair, as the young ones are almost always 

 bald, or in someway disfigured on the head. 



Canaries begin to pair about the middle of April, and may 

 be allowed to do so either in a cage or a room. In the former 

 case, a male and a female, or a male and two females, are to be 

 confined in a large wire cage. In the latter, the room must 

 be partly filled with pine boughs (pina spicea, LIN.) which 

 have been cut in February, and do not therefore shed their 

 leaves. In both cases the birds must be able to enjoy the 

 warmth of the sun, and must be furnished with hemispherical 

 nests of turned wood, or osiers woven together, two for each 

 pair. If for a window-sash a wire grating could be con- 

 veniently substituted, so that the birds could have fresh air, as 

 well as fight and warmth, it would tend materially to increase 

 the strength and health of the young ones. The pair which 

 are designed to breed together, should be put for a week into a 

 small cage, before being removed to the breeding-cage. If a 

 male is to be mated with two females, the females ought to be 

 previously kept in a small cage, till they have learned to agree. 

 In this case, the breeding- cage should be divided into two 

 parts, by a partition, in which is a communication, closed by a 



