December ^5. 
COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION. 
223 
may Ito fed nearly upon the same hind of food, will vary very 
much in composition and (juality. Straw from "Wheat, Oats, 
Harley, I'oas, Beans, &o., or any other vegetable matter, 
being mixed with the animal manure, very much augment, 
and materially affect, the quality of farm-yard manure, the 
constituent part of those substances being in part eartli 
and earthy soluble salts, and in different proportions, which, 
by entering into combination with the animal and more 
sohtble matters in the dung, retard the two rapid putrefac¬ 
tion of them, and when in a proper state of preparation and 
combination in a heap, form the best and most durable 
manures wo have. Soap-suds, lime-rubbish, soot, pigeons, 
or fowls dung, and all other refuse substances about the cot¬ 
tage, also horse-droppings and road-scrapings, should be 
added to the compost heap. All kinds of refuse, rubbish, 
])runings of Goosebernes, Currants, and other such spray, 
green sward, or heathy turf, should be partially converted 
into charcoal by burning in a close heap; and if the land 
is very heavy, clay burned in the same way is a capital 
dressing. 
As budding Nature will soon invite to fresh exertions in 
her wide domain, it may be permitted to us to direct tlie at- 
lention of the amateur, the gardener, and the cottager, to 
the advantage of stirring up facts for immediate or future 
use. 
The idea that so much has been written on gardening 
subjects, and the fear of having nothing original to commu¬ 
nicate, have deterred many persons from making observa¬ 
tions; but what Kay has remarked, “ that so rich is Nature, 
that a man born a thousand years hence will still tind 
enough for him to do and notice,” is equally applicable to 
the gardener, amateur, or cottager, who has the large and 
inexhaustible held of vegetable existence always open for 
his investigation. No fact, however trifling, should be con¬ 
sidered unworthy of notice, as it is impossible to determine 
the exact importance of any circumstance in the cultivation 
of any fruit, flower, or vegetable, until we know its whole 
history ; and not only this, but the whole history of other 
allied species, so as to ascertain what is peculiar to the one 
in question, and what is common to all the species of the 
group to which it belongs. 
The more a man observes the more he finds to observe. 
From having been long accustomed to have his eyes always 
open, he perceives objects which formerly he would have 
entirely passed over, and which others less practised than 
himself with difficulty distinguish, even rvlien their atten¬ 
tion is expressly drawn to them, as is very frequently exem¬ 
plified in the arrangement of the flower-garden and pleasure- 
ground scenery. It is truly remarked, that it is really won¬ 
derful how little we see until we have learned to observe. 
'J'here is that sort of originality required in the investiga¬ 
tion of the phenomena of vegetation, that the observer 
should dismiss every notion from hif^ mind imbibed from 
others, until he has taken correct steps to verify it, and to 
go forth to observe, determined to see and judge for him¬ 
self, with as much caution and exactness as possible. 
William Keane. 
THE CANARY IN ITS WILD STATE. 
In your last Number but one, your Correspondent, Mr. B. P. 
Brent, who wiites on the “Varieties of the Canary Bird,” 
says, that he much regrets not having met with any minute 
or accurate description of the wild originals of the Canary 
Islands. 
You will, perhaps, allow me, as I am tolerably intimate 
with “ the wild originals,” in their native countries, to 
give Sir. Brent what little information I possess on the 
subject. 
The Green Canary, or Fin(/illa Biitj/rdcea of Liniiffius, is, 
doubtless, the original stock of the bird so well known to us 
as the Yellow Canary. It flies about in large flocks, much 
as the Sparrow does with us,—and, at a distance, flocks of 
these birds might well be mistaken for each other; though, 
by the way, they do not coexist in the same countries. The 
price of a good singing Canary in the Island of Teneriffe 
varies from five to nine shillings; so that, in fact, it may 
be bought cheaper in London. On the occasion of my visit 
to Tenerifle, I was determined to possess myself of a first- 
rate songster to take with me to England. After due de¬ 
liberation, and all the shrugging of shoulders, declarations 
of the utter worthlessness of the article 1 desired, and other 
concomitants of a Spanish bargain, I mai'ched my prize in 
triumph to the Fonda. There I fell in with a very agreeable 
Spanish Padre, Father Tierney by name, and Irish by ex¬ 
traction. lie had formerly served in Spain as a dragoon, 
and had now retired to the Canary Islands as a priest. He 
had not, however, assumed the sombre manners of his 
habit, and was a most pleasant companion. I deter¬ 
mined that my bird should bear his name. Father Tierney 
returned with mo to England, and often reminded me of his 
jovial god-father by his merry song. Now comes the most 
remarkable part of the story. After Father Tierney had 
passed about twelve months in England, and won the affec¬ 
tions of many by his beauties and melodies, he was found 
one morning to have sadly belied his name, and deposited 
an egg at the bottom of the cage ! The now-no-longer 
Father Tierney did not long survive this denouement, and 
died shortly afterwards. 
In the “ Zoological Journal,” Number xvii.. Art. 17, Mr. 
Brent might find an elaborate description of the wild Ca¬ 
nary, from the able pen of Dr. Heinekeu. If he should not 
be able to obtain easy access to that work, the following ex¬ 
tract may suffice:— 
“ It is very familiar,” says the Dr., in speaking of this bird, 
“ haunting and breeding in gardens about the city. It is a 
delightful songster, with, beyond doubt, much of the Night¬ 
ingale’s and Skylark’s, but none of the Woodlark’s song; 
although three or four Skylarks in confinement are the only 
examples of any of these three birds in this island, and not¬ 
withstanding the general opinion, that such notes are the 
result of education in the Canary. It is in full song about 
nine months in the year. I have heard one sing on the 
wing, and passing from one tree to another, at some dis¬ 
tance,—and am told that during the paiiing season this is 
very common. Each flock has its own song; and, from in¬ 
dividuals in the same garden, differing considerably, I sus¬ 
pect that the song of each nest varies more or less. After the 
breeding season they flock' along with Linnets, Goldfinches, 
&c.; and are then seldom seen in gardens. An old bird caught 
and put into a cage will sometimes sing almost immediately, 
but seldom lives longer than the second year in confine¬ 
ment. The young from the nest are difficult to rear, dying 
generally at the first month. They cross readily with the 
domesticated variety; and the foregoing are larger, stronger, 
better breeders, and, to my taste, better songsters also, than 
the latter; but a pure wild song, from an island Canary at 
liberty, in full throat, and in a part of the country so distant 
from the haunts of men,—that it is, quite unsophisticated,— 
is unequalled in its kind by anything I have heard in the 
way of bird music.” 
To conclude with an accurate description of the wild Ca¬ 
nary, which it should seem Mr. Brent desires ; the follow¬ 
ing is taken from a careful comparison of the very numerous 
specimens in my collection:— 
Entire length . . . . 
Length of bill, from forehead 
Length of bill, from gape 
Length of tarsus . . . . 
Length of tail . . . . 
From carpus to the end of the wing 
6 inches 9 
0 41 
0 5 
0 8 
2 
o 
n 
!> 
3 
11 
lines. 
55 
5 > 
)> 
J) 
Forehead, crown, occiput, nape, deeply tinged with green¬ 
ish-yellow. All the upper parts gray, tinged with greenish- 
yellow ; in the centre of the feathers a broad streak of olive- 
brown. Rump greenish-yellow. Chin, throat, cheeks, neck, 
and breast, bright gi-eenish-yellow. Belly and abdomen 
saffron-yellow, with longitudinal streaks of gray. Vent and 
under tail coverts yellowish-white. Quills and tail blackish- 
brown, bordered with yellowish-white. Bill light yellowish- 
brown on the upper, and dirty white on the lower mandible. 
Feet yellowish-brown. Female with less yellow, sometimes 
with hardly anjL—E. V. H., Hastings. 
