92 
CAOE AND SINGING BIRDS. 
pairing' time arrives, give your birds hemp-seed, groundsel^ 
and hard-boiled yolk of egg ; most likely the cock will begin 
to sing" with extraordinary energy, and all the party will be 
in a constant state of flutter and excitement, showing that 
matters are going on exactly as you wish ; should this, 
however, not be the case, and no signs of pairing manifest 
themselves by about the middle of April, put the cock into 
a small cage, and hang it where he can see the hens, but not 
get to them, and after keeping him so till he begins to sing 
loudly, and peck fiercely at the wires, restore him to the 
society of the ladies ; should this fail, the case is hopeless — 
you must let him loose, or get rid of him, or try him with 
some other hens. Canaries, like unfeathered bipeds^ have 
their particular fancies, and he, perchance, may have set his 
affections otherwhere. If matters are going on all right, 
place in the cage, where it may be easily seen and got at^ 
some fine moss, cows' or rabbits' hair, or wool, washed very 
clean, and put osier nets of the size and shape of a bird's 
nest, in the inner division of the cage : these the birds will 
most likely proceed to line with the materials supplied for 
the purpose ; should they not, you had better do it for them, 
pressing the hair or wool gently and evenly down all round 
the sides, the bottoms of the nests should rest on the floor 
of the cage, and be attached to the side to keep it steady. 
Notwithstanding all your care and attention, you will some- 
times find a first egg laid away from either nest, in one of 
which you must gently place it, and most likely the second 
will be laid by its side ; some persons adopt the plan of re- 
moving the eggs as they are laid, and putting ivory balls in 
their place, and then restoring them altogether to the nest, 
that the young may be hatched at the same time, but the 
policy of this is very questionable ; there is great danger of 
breaking the eggs, and it gives unnecessary disturbance to the 
old birds, which, in the management of their domestic mat- 
ters, should not be interfered with unnecessarily. We have 
said that the canary has his fancies ; he will sometimes be 
very ardent and loving towards one of the hens, and neglect 
the other altogether ; when this is the case, it is best to put 
the neglected hen in one division of the cage by herself, 
until the other begins to lay, then place the male with her, 
and keep him there until she does the same, after which tha 
