86 CaK ARIES AND CaGE-BiRDS. 



part in the business — probably each does its share. And as regards obliging the birds to 

 consume the cayenne in excess, that, we think, will ultimately be shown to be un-natural, 

 strictly so, engendering waste and impeding the healthy action of the various organs. It does 

 not follow that because the bird is fond of the capsicum, and eats it greedily, that it can live on 

 it, any more than we ourselves could live and thrive upon mustard, horseradish, and pickles, 

 without a reasonable share of beef We have seen very poor results obtained from over-feeding, 

 and we have seen most satisfactory ones from the use of barely a tithe of the cayenne wasted 

 in the other case. A judicious use of the food is becoming more common every day, though, 

 unfortunately, the mistaken reticence before referred to makes the progress of knowledge, as 

 gleaned from published experience, very slow. We recommend, to begin with, one chopped 

 egg, with its equal bulk of sweet biscuit, mixed with a heaped-up tea-spoonful of cayenne. 

 The quantity can be increased or lessened as the birds seem to do well on it, and it can 

 be increased almost ad infinitum in some instances, as there is no mistake about the birds being 

 fond of it. Give seed very sparingly so long as the birds continue to thrive on the soft food. 

 The experience of a season will do more towards teaching a fancier the actual routine of this 

 part of his business than a volume of instruction. We have explained what we believe to be 

 the principle involved, and it is for the fancier to regulate the heat of his fire as he finds 

 his birds require it. 



We note, in the next place, that by a provision of Nature the Canary does not 

 shed its eighteen flight-feathers nor the twelve tail-quills till it is a year old — that is, 

 till its second moult ; and it must be evident, therefore, that our moulting-feed can have 

 no effect on these feathers, since they are already quite matured. They are, at any 

 time, the whitest feathers in the bird, having only a faint tinge of colour on the outer edge 

 of the web, occasionally barely perceptible, and when the smaller body-feathers have all 

 been renewed under the most favourable circumstances, these original " nest-feathers " will 

 look to be of a yellowish-green in comparison with the golden glory of the new ones. This 

 difference in colour was not so marked in the olden time ; but even then breeders, in their 

 endeavour to make the most of the bird, were accustomed to pull out the flights and tails of 

 their young birds before placing them in their moulting-cages, in order that they might be put 

 on an equality with the rest, and have the opportunity of growing them of a deeper colour. 

 There are many operations performed on animals under subjection to man which, to the 

 superficial observer, savour of cruelty, but which are, really, acts of kindness, rendered necessary 

 by the circumstances in which they are placed. We have not the slightest intention of entering 

 on this question, though our idea of what is included in the notion of subjection is very broad. 

 It comprehends, however, not the vestige of an idea of abuse of power for selfish ends, and 

 we fail to find any justification in our own mind for certain operations which, doubtless 

 originating in abuse, not use, of power without any necessary end in view, have come, in 

 the course of time, to be regarded by sensibilities blunted by frequent contact with question- 

 able practices as things not worth a thought. It is just this very want of thought that keeps 

 them alive. We quite recognise the wisdom which, by momentary or, at the most, short-lived 

 pain, can secure permanent immunity from trouble ; ' but we must have an end worthy of 

 the means — not a mere whim or fancy or subservience to a prevailing fashion, but an im- 

 perative necessity. We must therefore frankly admit that, although a keen fancier, rigid 

 and exacting in our demands, we cannot conscientiously say we see any necessity to disarrange 

 the provisions of Nature to such an extent as to pull out these thirty-six leathers in a bird'.s 

 wing to satisfy our eye in the matter of uniformity of colour. We as candidly admit that 



