Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1867-02-13
The Canary Bird Trade.


the suhors and rejected communications cannot ne returned
The Canary Bird Trade
rFrom the New York Journal of Commerce.
The German steamers bring large quantities Of
canary BIRDS forming considerable trade
The importations for the current year comprise
from fifteen thousand to twenty thousand
birds. valued at say eighty thousand dollars
Some curious facts are connected With this
business, as obtained from one of the New
York importers, of whom the principals are
Charles Zoer and Charles Richie. The grand
bird centre Of Europe is the Hartz Mountains
in the state of Hanover, where there are
numerous villages especially addicted to raising
these little songsters. The inhabitants rely
mainly for subsistence upon mining gold and
silver ores, but, being poor, almost the entire
population, as by common instinct, devote
their spare time to rearing birds, and making
tha little wooden cages in which these creatures
are carried to the railway station, forty miles
distant. and atterward carried across the ocean.
The Hartz Mountains are not supposed to be
rspecialy adapted to growing canares, as no
difficulty is experienced in raising them IN any
mid climate but the people in that region
share their dwellings with the birds on equal
terms. sacrificing so much OF personal con-
venience as may be for the welfare OF their
te,thered companions. The houses are small,
but one corner of the principal room is separat-
Ell from the rest by light partition, and re
served exclusively for the various processes OF
nest building and incubation. At the end OF
the breeding season, the birds are sent to
Hamburg or Bremen for shipment, excepting
only few ayorte heads of families, which are
then Gagged until the return of another year.
AS Matching takes place three times every sea-
son, and as there are commonly tour or hVe
eggs in nest, the increase is very rapid. A
considerable number perish, however, during
the incipient stages OF growth from want OF
proper attention by the parents; and the trans
Atlantic VOYAGES are attended with mortality
estimated at from 25 to 40 per cent, which
isattrbutabe to confinement and bad weather.
These VOYAGES are necessarily made in winter,
as the birds lose their voice and plumage in the
warm season, and would find few admirers If
sent to the market at that time. They are not
appreciated if they can't sing and don't appear
WE'LL At one Of the principal bird stores in
this city may be seen nearly two thousand OF
the feathered musicians, some of whom arc
prima donnas, valued at high figure. But
all without distinction join in the deatenlng
chorus, from dawn until dark, alike regardless
of the rule governing social life, that one shall
speak at time.
Quite number of canaries are grown IN the
Uuited States. One man In PhlladeIphia
lai. ed three hundred last year; another In
Buffalo one hundred and 6tty; and there are
several persons in New York and New Jersey
who rear them in smaller quantities, but as
rule the capital invested is not large, and lew
concerned in the business gam independent
fortunes
THE MILITARY FORCE Bill. Tho New
York World says, the bill if it passes, mon
strous as it is, will fail of its purpose, without
further outrages in support Of it. The Presi-
dent and the Supreme Court must both be
swept away, ere it can be enforced:
"The pivot onwhich the contemplated martial
law ia made to turn, is General Grant who IS
required to designate the officers and superln-
tend the system. But General Grant must
remain subordinate to the President, and like
all other officers of the army, subject to his
command 1t is not in the power of Congress
TO invert this relation, nor to transfer the obe-
dienre of the army to any other officer than the
President. The Constitution declares that the
President ''shall be Commander-in-C Chief OF
the Army and Navy, and Of the militia when
in actual service - and an authority conferred
by the constitution cannot be revoked by law.
Another fatal objection to this scheme is that
it suspends the habeas corpus in time OF peace.
The Constitution declares that "the privilege
the writ of habeas corpus shall not be sus-
pended, unless when 10 cases OF rebellion or
invasion the public safety may require If: At
present there is neither invasion nor rebellion
in any part Of the country. There is nowhere
q asingle soldier in arms against the government,
kvo cltI to
legal authority Under such circumstances, a
suspension of the habeas corpus is rerempto-
rl!y forbidden. "
Mr. James Hughes, the cashier and book
keeper of R. B, Smith & Co., coal Dealers in
Cincinnati, left there ON Saturday evening,
according to custom, his residence being three re-
miles and half northwest of the city. tie
was tracked by two or three highwaymen, it Is
supposed, and when he reached lonely spot
he was shot through the head and instantly
killed. The horse took fright at the report
and ran away, the corpse still cliuglng to the
vehicle aud the murderers failing in their de'
signed robbery. The horse was stopped by
Some residents on the road, and the body, still
warm, was removed The murderers escaped
NO trace Of them has been discovered so TAR.
a!r Hughes was highly respected citizen
lie was 60 years old and leaves a family.
1t ltisindeed,a bitter prescription to call upon
the Southern people to model after the North
ern State Legislatures in the face OF pictures
like the following, which the New York Times
gives OF legislation in the great State OF New
York: No bill with money in it, las the
plrase runs,) can bo passed except through the
ulrect bribery Of members No matter how
]l't the cause may be- no matter how large the
interest involved, no matter how deeply the
public welfare may be concerned, not a step cal
De taken, until the votes and support of certain
members have been secured We know thi:
10 be true and, if the law shutting out testi
mony were repealed, it could be proved