Our  Canaries 
CHAPTER  X. 
HATCHING    AND  REARING. 
THE    TIME    OF  HATCHING. 
THE  all  -  important  fourteenth  day  of  incubation  is  a  time  of  great 
anxiety  for  the  young  fancier,  whose  self-restraint  is  then  taxed  to  the 
utmost  to  prevent  a  natural  and  justifiable  curiosity  over-stepping  the  bounds 
of  prudence  and  trespassing  upon  the  realms  of  interference.  All  too  often 
human  nature  is  too  weak  to  overcome  temptation,  and  the  expectant  Canary 
mother-bird  is  hustled  off  her  speckled  treasures,  if  such  they  still  remain,  to 
gratify  the  owner's  curiosity,  at  the  one  time  above  all  others  when  perfect  free- 
dom from  scare  and  excitement  is  most  essential.  One  such  lapse  from  a  wise 
determination  not  to  interfere  in  the  affairs  of  the  hen's  domestic  state  is  apt 
to  lead  to  frequent  falls,  with  the  consequence  that  the  birds,  and  the  hen  in 
particular,  are  kept  in  a  condition  of  constant  flurry  and  fright  from  the  unwel- 
come attentions  to  which  she  and  her  nest  are  subjected,  in  addition  to  the 
natural  excitement  arising  in  connection  with  her  earnest  expectations. 
This  is  a  picture  of  things  as  they  should  not  be  but  which  are  only 
too  common  amongst  young  and  inexperienced  fanciers,  and  they  are  undoubtedly 
a  frequent  cause  of  hens  failing  to  perform  their  maternal  duties  from  this 
time  forward.  The  hen  may  become  obsessed  with  a  dread  that  some 
mischief  is  intended  to  her  newly-arrived  brood  and  sits  closely  upon  them, 
refusing  to  leave  them  even  long  enough  to  pick  up  a  decent  meal  for 
herself,  and  scuttles  back  in  such,  unseemly  haste  that  she  quite  misses  the 
idea  that  the  chicks  are  naturally  looking  forward  to  a  share  in  the  good 
things  of  this  life.  All  oblivious  of  such  necessary  items  she  flops  down 
upon  them,  anxious  only  to  hide  them  from  prying  eyes  and  fingers,  until  hunger 
again  forces  her  to  make  another  hasty  and  equally  unsatisfactory  expedition, 
which  is  repeated  again  and  again  until  the  life  is  finally  crushed  and  starved 
out  of  the  unfortunate  little  bodies.  Let  the  young  fancier  take  this  to  heart  as 
an  awful  warning  of  the  result  of  a  meddlesome  policy,  and  absolutely  shun 
all  interference  during  hatching  time  save  in  cases  of  sheer  necessity. 
DIFFICULTIES  OF  HATCHING. 
On  the  morning  of  the  fourteenth  day,  if  the  faint  "cheep,  cheep,"  which 
denotes  the  arrival  of  the  little  strangers  is  not  heard,  advantage  should  be 
taken  of  the  hen's  absence  at  the  food  box  to  have  a  peep  into  the  nest. 
Never  flush  the  hen  off  the  nest  if  it  can  be  avoided,  and  if  it  should  be 
necessary  to  do  so,  do  it  as  gently  as  possible,  "tweeting"  and  "talking"  to 
her  meanwhile.  Examine  the  eggs  without  any  unnecessary  handling  and  if 
they  show  signs  of  "  pipping "  towards  the  large  end,  leave  them  severely 
alone.    If  no  signs    of  "  pipping "  are  apparent,  wait  until  the  evening  and 
