I20 
Our  Canaries 
excellent  grit  may  be  bought  cheaply  by  the  hundredweight  direct  from  the 
sea  coast  by  large  users,  and  in  penny  bags  by  the  fancier  in  a  small  way. 
LIMITING   FOOD  SUPPLY. 
A  question  which  is  too  much  disregarded  by  Canary  fanciers  is  the  regu- 
lation of  the  food  supply  to  meet  the  requirements  of  particular  cases  and 
circumstances.     Sufficient  attention  is  not  paid  to  the  obvious  fact  that  in 
nearly  every  individual  case  our  caged  Canaries  live  an  easy  luxurious  life,  and 
are  practically  barred  from  anything  which  merits  the  term  of  vigorous  exercise. 
Therefore  when  the  strain  of  breeding  and  moulting  (if  such  it  can  be  properly 
termed)  is  past,  their  actual  necessities  in  the  way  of  food  are  most  limited, 
and  the  evils  of  overfeeding  are  far  more  difficult  to  combat  than  the  opposite 
condition,  when,  as  is  the  unvarying  rule,  an  unlimited  supply  of  food  of  one 
kind  or  another  is  continually  accessible.     Birds'  appetites  and  dispositions 
vary  tremendously,  and   whilst   some   will   not   overfeed  themselves  in  any 
circumstances,  there  are  many  others  who  are  so  devoted  to  the  good  things 
of  life  that  they  do  little  else  but  eat  and  rest.    The  consequence  is  that  they 
become  dull  and  lethargic — a  kind  of  feathered  "  Weary  Willie "  with  an 
eternally  tired  obsession — and  have  every  external  appearance  of  weakness  and 
delicacy,  which  grows  upon  them  and  renders  them  unfit  and  useless  for  any 
serviceable  purpose.    Though  the  plan  entails  a  little  more  attention  in  order 
to  avoid  a  calamity,  if  such  birds  were  kept  in  a  good  sized  cage  and  the 
amount  of  food  supplied  limited  to  the  actual  needs  of  the  moment,  as  it 
were,  the  labour  would  be  very  well  repaid  by  the  increased  usefulness  of  the 
birds  in  the  seasons  to  come.    There  is  no  reason  why  such  birds  should  not 
be  set  apart  in  this  manner  and  fed  each  morning  and  evening  in  the  same 
manner  as  poultry  keepers  supply  their  stock.    It  would  be  a  safe  plan  to  cal- 
culate the  needs  of  the  birds  by  allowing  a  fair  sized  teaspoonful  of  seed  per  head 
for  each  day's  supply,  and  give  half  the  quantity  in  the  morning  and  the 
remainder  in  the  evening  just  before  roost  time.    Or  the  control  may  be  based 
upon  observation  of  the  actual  consumption  of  each  such  group  over  a  few  days 
and  giving  just  such  quantity  at  each  feed  as  will  be  cleared  up  in,  say,  two 
hours'  time.    Such  regulation  of  diet,  we  are  convinced,  will  prove  of  the  greatest 
value  to  the  health  and  usefulness  of  the  birds  in  the  circumstances  described. 
