80 



CANARY BIRDS. 



be laid. 1 Grey, or yellowish-green birds are considered to 

 be the healthiest, most durable, and the most prolific ; they 

 are also said to be the most reliable breeders, but, as a rule, 

 their voice is more gruff than that of the yellow birds. 

 They are, not unfrequently, bred out of clear-yellow parents, 

 and must then be considered as having reverted to the 

 original colour ; the straw-coloured are likewise said to be 

 sturdy and durable ; while light-yellow birds, and those 

 whose colour borders on white, are looked upon as being 

 effeminate. More delicate still are the bright-yellow or 

 golden-tinted birds, which, owing to the thinness of their 

 plumage, are particularly prone to catching cold, and thus 

 to contract diseases. In order to obtain prime breeding- 

 birds, very strong and healthy females should be chosen 

 from among the great quantity of birds being brought into 

 the market in autumn. It need scarcely be said that a 

 proper conformation of the abdomen should be the first 

 object of consideration ; diseased and weakly females, and 

 such whose luring-note is unpleasant, should be carefully 

 eliminated, particularly in the case of Hartz canaries. 

 An experienced breeder of my acquaintance annually sells 

 the females and replaces them by young ones of the previous 

 year, but only such as come of the first brood. In this he 

 trusts to his perspicuity, and, as a rule, he picks out good 

 breeding-birds. Lenz is of opinion that a young male 

 and an old female obtain excellent results, and states that 

 11 females of last year produce two to three broods of three 

 to five eggs each, while older ones will give from three to 

 four, with three to six, or even seven eggs." 



1 The question whether consanguinity is really of such ruinous 

 consequence or not has been led of late to lively discussions, but 

 lias not been decided with certainty pro or contra. For the breeder, 

 prudence will always be advisable. 



