so Canaries axd Cage-Birds. 



come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in the land." But one swallow never made a summer, 

 and several fine days do not make spring. The return of inclement weather produces a reaction 

 in ourselves and in the birds too, and we feel glad that we proceeded no farther than a general 

 furbishing-up of cages and examination of materie,.. " More haste, less speed," should be written 

 over every bird-room door. We have known breeders lose half their hens by disregarding this 

 precept ; deaths from inflammation of the egg-passage, and consequent " egg-binding," being the 

 penalty for rousing the birds into action before the dreary days of winter were fairly past. Our 

 rule is never to put our birds up till they can see to feed at six o'clock in the morning. They 

 retire to roost early in the day, and during the early part of the season the long nights should be 

 made no longer than necessary. From six till six is a long fast, even supposing the young ones go 

 to sleep on full crops. The policy of waiting till the spring is fairly advanced will therefore be 

 obvious, and the rule we have laid down will be seen to be based on common sense. 



Where a number of birds have been living together through the winter, hens in one cage and 

 cocks in another, they should be looked over early in the spring, and those intended for breeding 

 purposes set apart and kept as quiet and free from excitement as possible, and fed on nothing but 

 plain diet, such as canary-seed and summer rape. The cocks will gradually be growing "fresh," and 

 will require to be caged off into separate compartments, though when they have been "flighted" in 

 company for a lengthened period, they will remain good friends till one or more of them begin to 

 come into high condition and full song, when the troublesome ones, at least, must be taken out, or 

 constant skirmishes will ensue. But we will assume that things have gone on in an orderly fashion, 

 and that no jealousies have sprung up, and the breeder finds himself landed into March with a nice 

 stock of healthy birds. We should advise him at once to put a match to his gas-stove, for, at the 

 best, March is but a blustering month, and April is not to be relied upon. East winds continue to 

 harass us, and even winter does not depart without a struggle, firing a few parting shots at intervals 

 and dying hard. Suspend a nesting-box at the back of each compartment between the two 

 perches, the bottom of the nest being about on a level with them, with something like about an 

 inch to spare on each side, which will allow the birds good standing-room when engaged in feeding. 

 But this is not very material, as the birds can, and will, stand on the nest-edge as often as on 

 the perch when so engaged ; indeed, some breeders never place their perches on the cross-bar, 

 but support one on the upper cross-wire and the other below the middle cross-bar, on a small 

 transverse wire between the door-frame and the side, obliging the birds to fly up to the nest 

 whenever they have any business to transact there. All these perch arrangements, however, 

 are entirely matters of taste, for it really signifies but little whether Canaries take their ever- 

 lasting hop, hop, treadmill-exercise on the level or with a rise and fall. If the nest-box be lined 

 with felt, nothing else in the way of nesting material need be supplied at the commencement ; 

 but if it be a box-nest, a little moss — not much — must be stuffed between the wires for the hen to 

 play with. Few breeders who use felt nests supply any building material whatever, and in this case 

 a first-size nest — a No. i — is best ; for although a hen will gather her eggs under her in a large 

 nest as well as a small one, she has a forlorn look squatted at the bottom of one that is two or three 

 sizes too large for her, and which she would fill up to suit her own ideas of comfort if material 

 were furnished her. For this reason we recommend using medium-sized tins and supplying 

 nesting-stuff — but not yet. 



Having furnished the lodgings thus far, put a pair of birds into each compartment. We need 

 scarcely say that by a " pair " is always meant a cock and hen. Our instructions on this point 

 must necessarily be understood to be general in their application : what kind of cock, and what 

 kind of hen, manifestly belonging to another part of our subject. There is not the slightest 



I 



