ortufi AND Singing birds* 
95 
repulsing" the attentions of the cock; that she might be 
enabled to do so. 
After the thirteenth day, the young* birds can generally 
feed themselves, and when a month old may be taken from 
their parents altogether ^ they may then be placed in a 
good-sized store cage, or in small separate cages, as Bech- 
stein recommends, and fed with their ordinary food, with 
which a little soaked rape-seed h-as been mixed ; they should 
not be turned loose in the room until after the first moults 
during which they will require all the care and attention you 
can bestow on them. 
And here we may bring our directions as to breeding to 
a close, with observing that the canary is a tolerably pro- 
lific bird, having commonly four broods in a season : a single 
pair has been known to produce as many as forty young in 
one year, but this was a very extraordinary instance ; there 
are, however, many casualties to prevent the bringing up of 
a large number, and the breeder may think himself well off 
if ho rears the half of those produced. Constant breeding 
weakens the hens greatly, so that they seldom live above 
^even or eight years. For breeding, the cock should not 
be less than two years of age ; the hen somewhat older. 
FOOD. 
The best general food for canaries is rape and canary 
seed, with occasionally chickweed, lettuce, watercress ; boiled 
vegetables, such as carrot, cauliflower ; and raw fruit, such as 
apple, pear, &c. ; a lump of sugar, now and then, will do 
them no harm, but they should not have too much of this, 
nor of anything sweet : only sufficient food for one day 
should be given at the time, or they will pick out the best 
the first day, and afterwards feed on the husks, thereby 
impairing their digestive organs. Sand, some old mortar, 
and plenty of fresh water to drink and to wash in, are 
among their requirements : during the moulting season they 
should have bread and milk, and if during incubation the 
hen sweats very much, it is best to mix her canary-seed 
with oatmeal, and let her have water impregnated with 
iron to drink. Bruised rape-seed, from which the chaff has 
been blown away, rubbed down in a mortar with crumb of 
white bread, makes a good dry food for old birds, and the 
