THE CANARY. 
say, “ My canary is very well, but he is such an unequal song- 
j ster, — one day he sings himself to within an inch of apoplexy, 
the next he is as mopish as an owl.” The secret of this lies in 
the seed-glass. Say it is Monday morning ; well, like a careful 
bird-keeper, you tidy up the canary’s house, and replenish his 
seed-glass with food enough to last till Thursday. All Monday 
the bird sings beautifully ! USTo wonder ! He has turned over 
the whole of his three days’ provision, and picked out the fattest 
and the fullest seeds. Hext day he does not sing so well, because 
he is reduced to second-rate fare. The third day he does not 
sing at all, he mopes and regards you sullenly from between 
the wires of his house. Poor fellow! He has sorted the 
contents of his seed-glass till nothing remains but such seeds as 
are dry and distasteful to him. 
How all this may be avoided by a little judicious manage- 
ment. Eor a full-grown canary, two large teaspoonfuls is 
sufficient for a day’s consumption. Put* this quantity into his 
seed-glass every morning. You will seldom find more than a 
dozen seeds, good or bad, left when feeding time comes round 
again, and the bird will sing uniformly, and retain his good 
health. Of course you will replenish his drinking-glass at the 
same time as you give him fresh food, and you need not be told 
that his water must not be limited. When your bird is moult- 
ing, keep a small rusty nail in the water he drinks. 
The Diseases of Canaries, and how to Cure them. — As 
long as your bird is lively and cheerful, as long as his plumage 
feels and looks sleek and smooth, and adheres close to his body, 
you may know that he is in good health. Whenever you see 
that he is dull and mopish ; when his eyes are half closed, and 
he squats down on his perch so that his feet and legs cannot be 
seen ; when his feathers are dull, and hang loosely from his body, 
you may know that he is ill, and requires immediate attention. 
Endeavour to discover the cause of his sickness. Has he 
been frightened P Has he been hanging in a draught and caught 
cold ? Has he any difficulty in getting at his food or water ? Are 
both these latter articles perfectly sweet P If there is no fault to 
be found with these things, examine his body. Blow up the 
feathers that cover his belly ; if it appears swollen, transparent, 
and full of tiny red veins, with a sinking of the bowels to the 
extreme parts, the bird has a “ surfeit,” or inflammation of the 
intestines. The disease is occasioned by cold, over -feeding, or 
bad water. 
The state of the bird’s bowels should be immediatelv attended 
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