Ii8 CANARIES 



parent. There are two ways of testing it — first, by push- 

 ing the hand into a large bag of seed ; if the hand sUps 

 easily into the seed, it is all right ; but if the fingers will 

 only go in about up to the knuckles, it has been sulphured. 

 The second way, is to hull a few seeds, bite them in two, 

 and try to swallow them. If they have been kiln-dried, 

 they will stick in the throat, and take some time before 

 they are dissolved by the saliva. How then are birds to live 

 on such seeds and be healthy ? 



Rape Seed. 



Rape is very similar to canary seed in its chief properties, 

 but it is also possessed of others which make it desirable — 

 nay, more, necessary — that it should be used in modera- 

 tion. If a temperate hand is not used in connection with 

 rape seed you will be often plagued with that scourge of 

 the bird-room, diarrhoea, owing to the fact that it possesses 

 strong acrid and purgative properties. Never use any 

 other than the best red, or summer, German rape. 

 There is much swindling practised in connection with 

 rape seed, by unprincipled dealers, and it is not always 

 easy to detect the fraud, unless one has experience. 

 There is only one good rape seed suitable for canaries, 

 and that is the small red summer rape, or, as it is often 

 called, German rape, because a large proportion of the 

 best seed is imported from Germany. Some of it, how- 

 ever, is grown in this country. Large, coarse, winter 

 rape, or a mixture of old and very inferior summer rape 

 with winter rape is constantly sold as summer rape. 

 This should always be refused by the fancier. The 

 difference is readily detected. Good, sound, summer 

 rape is a very small, plump, red, round seed ; and when 

 eaten has a sweet, soft, mellow flavour. Inferior summer 

 rape has a shrivelled appearance, and has scarcely any 

 kernel inside when bitten in two. Winter rape is a largish, 

 black seed, nearly as large as cabbage seed ; the husk 

 is hard and thick, and the seed has an acrid, bitter taste. 

 This seed often causes much illness, and the owner is 

 utterly at a loss to know what is the matter with his 

 little pets. The symptoms are generally looseness of the 

 bowels and pain in voiding the excrement. 



