28 The Canary. 



to us since ; and we never let any of our birds out unless 

 some of us are present to keep watch and guard against 

 the enemy. Cats and birds are naturally mortal foes, 

 and should never be in the same room, or even house, 

 together. 



But having now got a splendid cock bird, if we were 

 to breed pure lizards, we must necessarily purchase 

 another hen. This, of course, necessitated another visit 

 to the dealer in question, to see if we could get a mate 

 worthy of our former purchase, and at the same time be 

 within the limits of our purse. In this we fortunately 

 succeeded, purchasing a beautiful grey hen without a 

 foul feather about her, and which had already been 

 paired with the bird we had previously bought. To a 

 person unacquainted with the subject of breeding the 

 canary it may seem strange that I should select a grey 

 hen to pair with a yellow cock. To obtain brilliant- 

 coloured birds it might have been thought that a hen 

 similar to the cock would have been most likely to 

 ensure the desired effect. I confess that I was of this 

 opinion myself at first, but was assured by practical 

 breeders and fanciers that the latter method is the most 

 approved fashion, and that birds of opposite colours in- 

 variably produce young with the finest feathers and 

 markings. 



Having got the birds, the next thing was to find 

 them appropriate names. As now we were going to have 

 a numerous family, it became absolutely essential ta 

 give each its peculiar name, in order to distinguish the 

 one from the other. After tea, therefore, a grand pala- 

 ver was held on the hearth-rug, Indian fashion, before 



