THE LINNET. 39 



composed of hair, wool, and the downy 

 parts of various plants : the female lays four 

 or hve white eggs, which have a bluish tinge, 

 and are spotted with brown at the larger end; 

 these are hatched about the end of April or 

 the beginning of May, and the hen has 

 usually four broods in the year. 



These birds are frequently found in flocks, 

 especially during the Winter season, at which 

 time they feed on various kinds of seeds. 

 Bewick says, that the linnet derives its 

 name from its partiality to linseed. 



The linnet has four or five young ones at 

 a time, which may be taken at ten days old, 

 or even sooner, as they will learn the song 

 of another bird the better for being taken 

 young: feed them every two hours, from six 

 in the morning till six or seven at night, with 

 the same paste as that recommended for 

 the bullfinch ; and as soon as they are able 

 to feed themselves, set some scalded rape 

 seed in their cages, in order to wean them 

 from the soft food. It will, however, be a 

 month or six weeks before they are suffi- 

 ciently strong to crack their seeds, and live 

 entirely on hard meat ; in the mean while 



