CANARY BIRDS. 75 



It is a good thing to accustom young birds 

 to be very clean : baths in fine weather are 

 not likely to be hurtful ; but if they do not 

 wash, a little sprinkling from a fine brush is 

 sometimes desirable to force them to preen 

 their feathers. To be in a cage in view of 

 the old birds is often helpful here, and at 

 any time I would gladly give up one hatch 

 of birds for the sake of the pleasure it is to 

 see the little fledglings getting their educa- 

 tion the parental scoldings, pecks, and 

 pokes, which are so amusing, 



Unless a set of birds are already on a very 

 familiar footing with their mistress and ex- 

 tremely tame, it does not do to seem to 

 watch them much. At the same time when 

 a young pair bred up from nestlings, or long 

 become tame, have begun to build, they 

 will often go on composedly, and allow of 

 almost any amount of friendly interfer- 

 ence. 



I suspected the other day that one of mine 

 bad been building a floorless nest, and put a 



