SEEDS— THEIR USES 119 



Lin or Flax Seed. 

 This seed needs to be used with great care, as it is 

 very fattening, being full of oil. It is very valuable 

 to the canary fancier from the fact that it is such a grand 

 demulcent, softening and mollifying any inward irritation 

 that may be set up in the intestines ; further, it is a 

 splendid seed for keeping birds in the very pink of con- 

 dition, producing, as it does, the wonderful lustre and 

 beautiful brightness of coat that is so much coveted 

 on the show bench. At the close of the moult it is in- 

 valuable. 



Hemp Seed. 



This is a seed which is much abused, and at one time 

 I was amongst those who abused it, and that in no measured 

 terms. Time, that unerring monitor, however, has taught 

 me differently, and I have proved that, used at the right 

 tmie, in a right manner, and in right quantities, it is 

 a most valuable seed. 



Some authorities in the fancy say it is productive of 

 great evil, and that it operates on a bird's hver in the 

 same manner that brandy does on that of the human 

 being, viz., by enlarging it and gradually but surely 

 rotting it. I can quite beheve this if it is given in excess, 

 because it is possessed of anaesthetical and stimulating 

 properties ; but if used in a moderate way it is of much 

 service, especially during the breeding season and the 

 cold months of January, February and March, It is also 

 very serviceable to birds affected with asthma or con- 

 sumption, containing, as it does, heating and stimulating 

 powers. In cases of diarrhoea it is oft-times of great service. 

 Again, it will, when soaked, often induce hens to feed 

 their young when all other means have failed ; so that, on 

 the whole, I think there is more to be said in favour 

 of a moderate use of hemp than can be said against it, 

 providing always that restriction is laid on the hand that 

 ladles it out. The hemp bag must not be opened too often, 

 or too wide. The great danger in the use of hemp is when 

 it is crushed. The husk contains properties that are 

 very injurious, and when hemp is crushed so small that 

 the birds cannot separate the husk from the kernel it 

 induces much evil. 



