THE CANARY. 
17 
them all into boiling water, and dust the whole of the cage with the powder. 
By this time every mite will be dead, but there is a goodly store of eggs 
which will be hatched in due time, and infest the cage anew. These are 
destroyed by means of oil. Take a camel’s-hair brush and some salad-oil, 
and with the brush apply the oil to every crevice. If there should be the 
tiniest scratch on the wood, touch it with the oil. Let oil be applied to 
every spot where the wires enter the wood, where they cross each other, 
and where the hinges of the door are fixed. Every egg will thus be de¬ 
stroyed, and the cage freed. 
About half an hour before you restore the bird to the cage, hold it in the 
left hand, and dust it well with the powder, blowing up the feathers so as to 
get it well to the roots. Scatter some of the powder upon a piece of soft rag, 
and roll the bird in it, carefully binding down its legs and wings, under 
each of which a pinch of powder must be sprinkled. You can now attend 
to the head, which requires rather neat handling, as the powder is very apt 
to settle upon the eyes and to worry the bird. Let your feathered pet lie for 
half an hour in this beneficial bondage, and then replace it in the cage, scatter¬ 
ing some powder upon the floor. The bird will shake its plumage sharply, 
and send a cloud of dust flying, and in a minute or two will begin to peck 
among the feathers and settle the plumage. The different aspect of the 
bird is then quite remarkable, for it exchanges the fussy, anxious, fretful 
moments for quiet ease, and even when it does peck among the feathers, 
it does so gently and deliberately, and seems quite another bird. 
Canaries thrive best on a mixture of what is called canary-seed with rape. 
Take care, however, not to give too much of the latter. A little hemp should 
also be occasionally given, but not mixed continually with the other seed, 
as is the practice with some canary fanciers; for hempseed is a hot, stimu¬ 
lating food, and should therefore be cautiously administered when the bird 
seems to want a nourishing diet Groundsel or chickweed should always be 
supplied to the canaries during the warm season of the year. Green meat 
altogether is not good for them; an occasional sprig of watercress, however 
or a young lettuce-leaf, or a little dry sponge-cake, will not hurt them ; but 
do not let them have these—which should be occasional delc-acies—as re¬ 
gular articles of diet. A little hard-boiled egg will often set up a moping 
bird; but, as a general rule, plain food, renewed daily, and not administered 
in too great quantities, will be found best. Change the drinking water 
regularly every day, and when the bird is moulting put a sprig of saffron, 
or a rusty nail into the drinking vessel. Let the birds have a frequent op¬ 
portunity of bathing, either from a bath fixed at the side of the cage for the 
purpose, or in a small shallow vessel placed on its floor. The practice of 
letting canaries out of their cage for an occasional flight must be indulged 
in with caution. Many a bird has escaped through some unnoticed aper¬ 
ture, and many another has met an untimely death on the bars ot the grate ; 
indeed, no bird should be allowed to fly about in a room in which there is a 
fire. 
