264 



FANCIERS' JOURNAL AND POULTRY EXCHANGE. 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, by Joseph M. 

 Wade, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



Jff ANCIERS' JOURNAL AND IpOULTRY (j^XCHANGE, 

 JOSEPH M. WADE, Editor and Proprietor. 



*§ix& ami JJnuill ggrt gtpartnwnt. 



Published Weekly at 39 North Ninth Street, Philadelphia. 



SUBSCRIPTION. 



Per Annum $2 50 



Six Copies, one year 12 00 



Specimen Copies, by mail 10 



ADVERTISEMENTS 



From reliable parties, on any subject interesting to Fanciers, will be 

 inserted at 10 cents per line, set solid ; if displayed, 15 cents per line of 

 space will be charged ; about 12 words make a line, and 12 lines make an 

 inch of space. 



1 inch of space, set solid $1 20, displayed $1 80 



1 column, about 108 lines, set solid 10 80, " 16 20 



1 page, 216 lines, solid 21 60, " 32 40 



Advertisements from unknown parties must be paid-for in advance. 

 Sherman & Co., Printers, Philadelphia. 



AMERICAN STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE. 



REDUCTION IN WHOLESALE PRICE. 



We call particular attention to the advertisement in this 

 number of the Journal, of E. S. Ralph, Secretary of the 

 American Poultry Association, in which it will be noticed 

 that the wholesale price of small lots has been greatly reduced. 

 Every Fancier will want a copy of the new Standard, whether 

 they approve of it or not. 



The Khode Island Poultry and Columbarian So- 

 ciety have opened rooms, as headquarters, in Rhodes' 

 Block, 207 Westminster Street, Providence, which they 

 propose to have open at all times, to be supplied "with all 

 the poultry periodicals published ; and request breeders, and 

 other societies to send circulars and other matter which 

 might be useful in the rooms located as above. 



SEX OF EGGS. 



William J. Pyle says : " In regard to the egg mystery, 

 I forgot to mention that when the air chamber is not vis- 

 ible it indicates that the life principle is absent, and of course 

 the egg will not hatch, which can be proven by breaking 

 the shell, when you will observe that there is no impregna- 

 tion, there being no tread attached to the fibre at the large 

 end. By the above-mentioned method it may be ascer- 

 tained which is the last egg from a non-sitter that will hatch. 

 But with the other breeds one impregnation is sufficient for 

 a sitting of eggs. When the hen begins to cluck, this is the 

 time to begin to breed true to her kind by a judicious selec- 

 tion of mate, so as to avoid 'sports,' unless you have fol- 

 lowed the still better plan of selecting in the fall a vigorous 

 cock to run with about thirty hens, so that when the hatch- 

 ing season has arrived the hens are all impregnated, and the 

 cock is no longer needed if you require the majority of the 

 chicks to be pullets. Better results follow this plan than 

 when more males are employed in proportion to the number 

 of hens in the same pen." 



(For Fanciers' Journal.) 



THE CANARY BIRD. 



The Canary is now reared in almost every civilized coun- 

 try. More than three hundred years ago a ship sailing 

 from the Canary Islands, laden with merchandise and a 

 few Canaries, was wrecked on the coast of Italy. The birds 

 escaped to the timbered lands near the coast, where they 

 bred freely, and would have become naturalized had not the 

 sweetness and brilliancy of their notes attracted the natives, 

 who were possessed of so strong a desire to obtain them that 

 by continually hunting them the wild breed became extinct. 

 After this circumstance the captured birds spread rapidly 

 over all Europe. 



In a state of nature the Canary nests in shrubs on the 

 banks of small streams, which are numerous in their native 

 islands. 



The original color of the Canary was not like those of the 

 present day, but of a brownish olive-green mixed with 

 black and yellow. The present brilliant hues of plumage 

 have been produced by cross-breeding with other birds. 



Fanciers, by careful management, have instituted rules 

 by which the arrangement of coloring of the Canary can be 

 bred of any shade between that of the parrot-green, orange, 

 and lemon, but still the original color will appear occasion- 

 ally, even when two lemon-colored birds are mated together. 



The Canary is now bred for this market principally in 

 Germany, in the kingdom of Hanover, where the peasants 

 make their chief means of subsistence by their breeding. 

 Tourists are sure to visit the Hartz Mountains, the great 

 bird-breeding mart of the world. While the United States 

 receive their supply mostly from this locality, some are im- 

 ported from France, Belgium, and Holland. 



The song of the Canary has also changed under this pro- 

 cess of cross-breeding. One accustomed to listen to their 

 original notes would scarcely recognize in the modern bird 

 the song of their progenitor. 



The price paid by the importer varies, but is usually 

 about one dollar each, according to the beauty of plumage 

 and excellence of song. 



German peasants manufacture small wooden cages in 

 large numbers from fir wood, which grows upon the moun- 

 tain sides. Some are dome-shaped and some are square, 

 and about eight inches long by four inches in height and 

 width. Every bird has a separate cage, and every cage is 

 made entirely of wood ; pegs, instead of nails, are used to 

 fasten them together. They are manufactured at the small 

 price of two cents each. 



It is estimated that about fifty thousand Canaries are im- 

 ported annually into America. During the passage they 

 require careful attention daily in feeding and watering. 

 The cages are arranged in divisions, so as to allow the 

 keepers to pass between them to feed the birds and'clean 

 the cages. If cleanliness is neglected, sickness is engen- 

 dered, and many birds will perish in consequence. The 

 usual cargo for a single ship consists of about four thousand 

 birds. 



VARIETIES. 



There are three varieties known in America, viz. : the 

 German, French, and Belgian. The German are designated 

 as the short and the Belgian as the long breed, while the 



