ORDER PASSERES. 277 



ardent and full of vivacity, rouse them up a little, and they 

 begin to sing and show some symptoms of animation. These 

 same individuals are naturally uncleanly. Their feet and 

 tail are almost always dirty, their plumage neglected, and 

 never smooth. Such males cannot possibly be agreeable to 

 the females. Of a melancholic character, they cannot enliven 

 them with their song, and seldom attempt it, even when the 

 young ones are about to come forth. These last are seldom 

 better than their sires. Besides, the least accident which 

 happens in their little household, makes them taciturn, and 

 saddens them to such a degree, that they are ready to die. 

 Such birds should be rejected by those who are desirous of 

 raising and educating a brood of canaries. 



Others are of so mischievous a disposition that they will 

 kill the female which is presented to them. But these 

 mauvais sujets sometimes possess qualities which atone a 

 little for their wickedness, such as a melodious song, fine 

 plumage, and great familiarity. It may be remarked, that 

 the more mild, free, and playful the canaries, either male or 

 female, are with their master, the worse they discharge their 

 domestic duties ; something like the hon-vivants and heUesprits 

 of either sex in our own species. Such birds as these should 

 be preserved, but not paired. There is, however, a method 

 of taming the perverse character of a male of this kind. For 

 this purpose, two females are selected, a year older than him- 

 self. These two females should be encaged together for some 

 months, so as to become very familiar, and not to fight when 

 they find themselves placed with a single male. About a 

 month before the hatching time, they are let loose together in 

 the same room ; and when the coupling time arrives, the male 

 is put in along with them. He will not fail to attack and 

 begin to fight with them. But they will unite for their 

 mutual defence, and end by subduing him, and compelling 



