Our  Canaries  77 
of  man  yet  to  prove  the  fact  to  be  contrary.  It  is  not  quite  a  relic  of  former 
days  either,  for  there  are  still  thousands  of  country  hen-wives  who  would 
never  dream  of  putting  eggs  to  set  until  the  calendar  had  been  consulted, 
and  the  commencement  of  incubation  so  timed  that  the  eggs  must  hatch,  if 
at  all,  when  the  moon  is  waxing  toward  the  "  full,"  confident  in  the  belief 
that  the  chicks  will  possess  a  more  substantial  amount  of  vitality  and  vigour 
to  commence  life,  and  consequently  have  a  better  living  chance.  Whether  it 
may  be  so,  we  do  not  pretend  to  say,  but  granted  that  it  were  a  fact  its 
utility  is  of  little  account,  as  our  clutches  of  Canaries'  eggs  are  not  saved  up 
and  set  at  pre-arranged  times  in  the  way  that  would  be  necessary  to  put 
such  an  idea  into  practice.  Neither  will  we  discredit  the  idea  that  the 
same  force  which  sways  the  billions  of  tons  of  water  in  the  ocean,  and,  as 
recent  discoveries  show,  the  more  solid  matter  of  the  universe  in  the  tides, 
may  in  some  subtle  manner  exercise  an  influence  over  the  infinitely  more 
sensitive  and  impressionable  animate  frame.  We  let  the  theory  stand  for 
what  it  is  worth  and  leave  it  with  an  "  open  verdict,"  merely  adding  as  a 
rider  to  prevent  hasty  and  prejudiced  judgment  the  truthful  assertion  of 
Shakespeare,  that  there  may  even  yet  be  more  things  in  heaven  and  earth 
than  are  dreamed  of  in  our  philosophy. 
THE   NUBSERY  CAGE. 
A.  Useful  and  Necessary  Appliance  in  the  Breeding  Room. 
