32 



CANARY BIRDS. 



land, were sold at surprisingly high' prices, were bred in 

 Germany. One should, however, beware of handling them. 

 If it be desired to remove them from one cage into another, 

 the latter is kept ready, and the birds are driven into it by 

 means of a small rod. The breeding is generally effected 

 in pairs, each couple being located in a separate cage. In 

 his fourth year only, this bird is wont to develop its whole 

 beauty. I greatly fear, however, that the Belgian breed, if 

 new blood cannot be infused into it, will, sooner or later, 

 totally degenerate, so that these fine and noble birds will, 

 despite the incredibly high sums which are paid for them, 

 become wholly extinct. We make no difference here between 

 Brabant and Brussels in Belgium, the latter town being, in 

 fact, the capital of the province of Brabant. 



There is another breed that is erroneously called the 

 Dutch Canary, but which is not known in Holland. 

 At the exhibition at Gravenhage I found some sorry speci- 

 mens of these, which passed there as " Serins Hollandais," 

 but, for all that, the bird was nothing but the " Serin Frise " 

 (curly canary). It seems to be a new breed, which is im- 

 proving yearly, and which seems to become more and more 

 cultivated. Their home is in the province of Hainaut, 

 and also the north of France, where, for some years, they 

 have spread and increased wonderfully. The so-called Dutch 

 canary is larger, sturdier, and coarser than the Belgian bird ; 

 it has very long legs, and the body should be as long as 

 possible, and stretched out quite straight. It bears length- 

 ened feathers, which curl when the bird is excited ; these 

 feathers, which extend from the back down on both sides, 

 being called " rolls," or " shawl." The feathers of the 

 " rolls " are divided in the middle, the curl to the right or 

 left, and thus unite their points with those of the "jabot." 

 Below the latter, a number of feathers again take a different 

 direction, and clasp both wings (these are called "flan- 



