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= 95 



It is put into its new cage, which has a seed-box and water-glass hanging outside, as used for our 

 Enghsh birds. All goes well the first day ; but the second morning you find the bird looks unwell, 

 and moves about in a restless manner along the front wires of the cage. At night he is worse, 

 and rolled up like a ball of feathers at the bottom of the cage ; and the next morning they tell 

 you that 'poor little Dickey is dead.' Dead ! and all for want of one word of instruction from 

 the dealer. These birds have always been accustomed to having their seed and water inside the 

 cage, and lack the instinct necessary to put their heads through the round apertures made in front 

 of the cage, so that your bird literally died of starvation, with seed and water before its eyes. 

 For the first week after being changed out of the tiny cage, therefore, seed and water must be kept 

 inside the cage, as well as hanging them at the usual places outside ; and the bird should be 

 enticed to put his head through the apertures by placing small bits of watercress part way through 

 them, until he has acquired the habit of putting his head through and partaking of his food. 



" The question of food is a very important one, and cannot be too much studied. When the 

 birds first arrive in this country, they are, to all appearance, fed upon summer rape-seed ; but the 

 importer, anxious for them to sing well and bring a good price from the dealer, gives them once a 

 day a plentiful supply of hard-boiled egg, finely chopped and mixed with crushed rusks ; and the 

 dealer also feeds liberally upon the egg-food. There is not sufficient support in seed and water to 

 keep the birds up to that high state of health and song which is requisite ; yet the egg is too 

 stimulating for a general diet, and also liable to bring on constipation. As soon, therefore, as a 

 bird is purchased, a cake should be made in the following manner : — Take one egg and beat it 

 well up into a froth. In a separate vessel beat up a piece of fresh butter until it is quite soft and 

 white, and then add it to the egg. Add one table-spoonful of Austrian or biscuit flour, one 

 tea-spoonful of crushed lump sugar, one tea-spoonful of baking powder. Spare no pains in 

 beating all up well together, and bake in a sharp oven in a shrimp-pot well greased with butter. 

 The above should be crumbled fine, and given mixed with a good sprinkling of maw-seed. 



" It is often found that a bird, a few weeks after arrival in this country, begins to show 

 symptoms of constipation by sudden twitches at the vent. When this is observed, take a piece 

 of soft stale bread, and drop it into a basin of milk that has stood over-night and has the 

 cream upon it ; then take it out with a tea-spoon, letting the cream adhere to it, and sprinkle 

 a little maw-seed over it. Give a little at once, taking care to remove any that is left before going 

 sour. This will act as a mild aperient, and leaves no ill-eff"ects. In cases where the bird becomes 

 hoarse, a little stale bread steeped in warm milk, and a little honey dropped upon it while warm, 

 will be found very beneficial. Should this be found too thin, thicken it with a little crushed 

 butter-biscuit until it forms a thick paste, and then place a little at the ends of the perches. 



" So much for the ordinary household singing Canary. In many counties, but most 

 frequently in Lancashire, singing contests take place during tlie winter months among fanciers 

 of these birds. There are two kinds of competition : one for the bird that sings the most 

 in a given time, called ' quantity ; ' the other for the bird that sings the sweetest song, 

 pieces his song well together, and glides softly from one note to another — this is called 

 ' quality.' For these matches the birds undergo a course of training and feeding. The 

 mode generally adopted is to begin about a week before the intended competition takes 

 place, and gradually exclude the light from the bird by placing cloths over the cage, or 

 better still, by putting one cloth over the cage and placing him in a dark cupboard. All 

 other birds should be put out of hearing, so as not to excite him to waste his song, and 

 three times each day he should be taken out and allowed to feed and sing for a few 

 minutes. Each evening, about the time that he will have to compete, he should be again 



