FEEDING BY HAND. 



91 



wood, or ivory, or chalk, or to expose the eggs, on the sixth 

 day of breeding, to a transparent light, in order to ascer- 

 tain whether they are impregnated or not. By the former 

 process, it is true, one will effect a simultaneous fledging of 

 the young birds, and the Litter investigation will show 

 pretty accurately how many young may be counted upon 

 in each brood ; but I can only award the right to either of 

 these proceedings only to very expert breeders, who, by 

 many years' experience, have acquired the coolness and the 

 assurance necessary for such intimate intercourse with the 

 birds ; with all others such an economy in breeding will incur 

 the risk of spoiling their best nesting-birds. 



Poster-Mothers — Feeding by Hand. — When 



females belonging to a valuable and delicate stock or breed 

 do not themselves hatch or feed their young, the latter, or 

 even the eggs, are taken away from them and given to other 

 more robust females of less delicate breeds, into whose nests 

 they will be distributed for the purpose of being hatched 

 and raised. Therefore, those who wish to breed very select 

 canaries, should always have a proportionate number of 

 ordinary, well-breeding females at hand. If, in the case of 

 a young female dying, or beginning a second brood — although 

 the fledglings cannot yet eat alone — no foster-mother is 

 available, then the raising of the young becomes a difficult 

 thing. They are fed up by giving them, by means of a 

 spoon-shaped quill, or a small painting-brush, a mixture of 

 stale, soaked bread and of egg-yolk; this will be given about 

 ten times a day in doses of three to four spoonfuls. As the 

 young grow up, a little finely-grated rape or poppy-seed 

 will be gradually mixed with the above-named food, and 

 they are then fed as often as they call for it, and as copi- 

 ously as they wish. During this process, the young birds 

 should be carefully covered up with loose cotton. 



This feeding by hand is very troublesome, however, and 



