THE BIRDS OF THE AVIARY 



269 



First he should be carefully rubbed down the 



back, breast, and head with a soft towel. Then 



the wings must be dried with even more caution, 



being carefully rubbed always in their natural 



direction, after which the bird must 



be laid safe and sound, 



rather damp, on the flan 



which has been spread o 



the floor of the cage. 



Though he will seem 



to be half dead, he is 



in reality full of life, 



and if he is left 



cjuietly to himself in 



some place careful!)' pr( 



tected from drafts, he 



recover from his fri 



few hours and be as 



A canary well cared for is a ^ , ^ 

 pleasure to the eye ; yet even those ^,^,^^ .j,,,,- 

 most carefully treated have to pass 

 through a period, which the\- cannot e\'ade, 

 when they are far from being charming to be- 

 hold. We mean, of course, the molting period. 

 This phenomenon, which takes place every year, 

 cannot be called a disease, though many birds 

 die of it. As temperature has a 

 great influence on the duration of 

 the molt, the birds should be kept 

 warm in some cjuiet, tranquil place ; 

 the washings must cease ; and as for 

 food, more egg should be given and 

 more seed and bread, but no hemp. 

 It is well to put a bit of apple or 

 cooked carrot between the bars of 

 the cage, but no green food should 

 be given. 



For young birds this is a very try- 

 ing period ; in fact, the influence of 

 the molt is so great that some prom- 

 ising young songsters never fully 

 recover their powers. It is the cus- 

 tom among breeders in England and 

 the United States to give the molting 

 birds a mixture of hard-boiled egg, 

 biscuit, and Cayenne pepper. At first they 

 refuse this stinging delicacy, but after a few 

 days they become extravagantly fond of it. It 



is n(jt advisable for tlic owner of a single canary 

 to employ the Cayenne remedy, because in our 

 day it is difficult t(; obtain it unadulterated, and 

 he risks ]3oisoning his iiel witli some deleterious 

 substance masc|uerading as Cayenne 



V. In'cubation 



Foi- the incubation of 

 the eggs of canaries 

 and of other small 

 hduse l)irds, a hatch- 

 ing cage should be 

 )r()\'ided, — one closed 

 n thi'ee sides, — as large 

 possible, and so arranged 

 nest can be easil)" sus- 

 . 'bhis nest should not be 

 , , (~ made with too much art. It should 



Exi'osiiioN l^t^ ab(jut two and a half or three 

 inches deep and shfiuld consist 

 chief!}' of a solid pouch sus|)ended from the roof. 

 If it suits the female she will know, when the 

 proper time comes, how to line it with threads, 

 moss, lint, bits of grass, etc., which must be 

 slipped between the bars of the cage. She 



Dry with Cvre! 



usually lays her eggs early in the morning, — 

 one a day for fi\'e or perhaps si.\ days, though 

 it often happens that she lays only three or four. 



Digitized by IVIicrosoft® 



