BRITISH SONG-BIRDS. 163 



comfbrts of society. It sings at all seasons, it 

 cheers us in the dullest weather, and even adds to 

 our happiness : for it amuses the young, and de- 

 lights the recluse; it charms the tediousness of 

 the cloister, and exhilarates the soul of the inno- 

 cent and the captive." 



It is said there are upwards of thirt}^ perma- 

 nent varieties of this bird, which can easily be dis- 

 tinguished; and the number is increasing every 

 year, and each kind has its admirers. 



There are societies formed in London for pro- 

 moting the breed of canary-birds, and a premium 

 is awarded to the competitor that comes nearest 

 what the society thinks perfection. A model is 

 given out, the season prior to competition, which 

 is represented by a colom'ed drawing accompanied 

 with a technical description of the plumage, &c. — 

 The limits of this treatise will not allow us to enter 

 minutely into a detail of the different varieties of 

 this bii'd, or the manner of breeding either them or 

 mule-bu'ds. For that purpose, we must refer the 

 reader to several little works, published entirely on 

 that subject, by amateurs and bird-fanciers in Lon- 

 don ; also to a treatise by Hervieux, and to the ar- 

 ticle Serin in the ^'NouveauDictionnaire d'Histoire 

 Naturelle,'^ We shall, however, briefly mention a 



