go 
Our  Canaries 
it  is  only  birds  that  are  hard  and  healthy  that  can  do  it.  I  put  it  down 
to  the  following  diet  during  the  show  season  :  Best  Spanish  Canary  seed 
and  a  teaspoonful  of  crushed  sunflower  seeds  twice  a  week  ;  no  other  seeds 
of  any  description,  but  once  a  week  a  little  sweet  apple. 
THE  PROCESS  OF  WASHING. 
Washing  a  small  bird  is  always  a  most  delicate  and  risky  matter  for  an 
inexperienced  hand  to  tackle,  and  although  we  may  describe  it  faithfully  in 
minute  detail,  the  beginner  at  the  job  will  be  most  soundly  advised  to  proceed 
cautiously,  and  endeavour  to  get  an  object  lesson  or  two  before  becoming  an 
operator  himself.  In  these  days  of  many  fanciers'  societies,  with  frequent  lectures 
and  demonstrations  on  every  kind  of  fancy  topic,  it  is  no  very  difficult  matter 
for  the  novice  to  get  such  object  lessons  by  becoming  a  member  of  his  local 
society,  as  few  seasons  will  be  allowed  to  pass  without  one  or  more  washing 
demonstrations  being  given  for  the  edification  of  the  novice  members.  Having 
attended  a  few  such  demonstrations,  let  the  next  step  be  to  wash  one  or  two 
of  the  commonest  birds  obtainable  as  an  experiment,  and  to  acquire  the  first 
elements  of  skill  in  handling  them  during  the  operation.  We  have  known 
our  ubiquitous  friend,  Passer  Domesticus  (to  give  the  common  House  Sparrow  his 
scientific  cognomen)  caught  and  "put  through  the  mill"  for  this  purpose. 
But  he  is  a  very  poor  substitute  for  the  domestic  Canary,  inasmuch  as  he  shows 
too  much  fight  and  gives  as  much  as  he  can  in  return  for  the  uninvited  attentions 
to  his  person  by  gripping  with  his  beak  and  stubbornly  holding  on  to  the 
bristles  of  the  brush  or  sponge  or  even  the  tenderest  part  of  your  fingers,  so 
that  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  make  any  progress,  and  in  the  end  one  has 
acquired  but  a  very  unreal  idea  of  the  delicate  handling  required  by  the  highly- 
bred  and  submissive  Canary.  Taken  altogether,  the  very  best  subjects  to  learn  on 
will  be  a  few  of  the  commonest  German  hens.  The  financial  risk  is  quite  trivial, 
and  the  knowledge  gained  will  be  in  every  particular  just  what  is  required  for  the 
all-important  task  of  operating  upon  valuable  show  birds. 
REQUISITE  PARAPHERNALIA. 
Before  commencing  one  must  make  a  point  of  checking  off  everything  that  is 
necessary  to  complete  the  task.  A  good,  bright,  clear-burning  fire,  a  supply 
of  boiling  water,  a  supply  of  cold  water,  a  cake  of  good  pure  soap,  two  small 
sponges,  or  bits  of  soft  flannel,  or  one  sponge  and  a  soft  badger  hair  shaving 
brush,  a  small  camel  hair  artist's  paint  brush  about  as  large  round  the  bristles 
as  an  unsharpened  lead  pencil,  not  larger  (this  will  only  be  required  to  clean 
the  nostrils  and  round  the  beak  when  this  portion  is  badly  soiled)  ;  three 
earthenware  bowls  large  enough  to  hold  the  bird  in  and  move  the  hands  quite 
freely ;  a  good  supply  of  old  linen  handkerchiefs,  or  pieces  of  old  sheets  of 
an  absorbent  nature  ;  a  drying  cage ;  and  a  drying  board  which  consists  merely  of 
a  piece  of  board  4  feet  long  by  15  inches  wide,  the  exact  measurements  are 
