The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-02-04
b I r. D s
Flying Flowers and Feath-
cred Gems.
OUR HOUSEHOLD M1NsTRELs
Their Numbers-HCw to Care for Them
Their Value and Pcculiarities.

may be interesting to some OF readers learn
sSmething OF the best ways OF treating these charm
ing, innocent pets which we mold In captivity. 1t
is 80 sad to see them pine and die. as they surely
WIN we neglect them.
Ens ,Ssnn: s G m n. s. ~ my ,S:.
More cruelty could none express,
And !, II you mad shown me less,
Had been your prisoner still.
We were astonished to nnd how great number
OF foreign birds were imported into this city annu-
ally matter or traffic From statistics furnished
at the appraisers ONCE for the six months end
ing on the LIST OF January, 1872 we found there
were 81, 237 birds imported and for the year Just
passed there have been over sIxty-sx thousand
foreign birds brought TO this port by direct importa
sion for she trade 1t is estimated too, that fully
sne-iourrh as many more ind their way here by
sailors and returned tourists, swelling up the
number to nearly eighty.three thousand birds Of
various kinds.
There are thirty.eight established stores In this
'.,:. II. sale Of birds, ana about onefourth as
~. ~. VIZ y, ~" they are sold IN private,
and not exposed to the passeruy, .-,r sns III a.i
nearly nifty dealers in BIRDS There are four exte-.
ave wire cage manufactures and six where they
manufacture wooden ones. And tbsse dsalsyA ~
birds and birdcages all make m~-1
About nine. tenAHc --oy.
;hkrvss -...sV VI Lne European Dlr0S arc cage
-. ana Of this class rwo-thlrds are the German
and French Tor long breezy canary. The most de.
treble ana principal part OF the remainder OF this
eighty three thousand are composed or the follow.
ing kinds:-Tne skylark, cha1lnch, thrush, black.
bird, wood lark, staillng nnnet gray. linnet
tgreenl, siskin, nightingale, bullhnch, g0ld1nch,
Java sparrow, amandanet. the gray or African
parrot, the yellow headed or green parrot the COM
mon yellow headed parrot and the Australian Tor
SHELF paroquets, macaws and cOckatoos.
We should take up too much space to mention all
the parrot family by name, there being over twenty
different kinds TO choose from In our market. The
sulphur crested cockatoo, however, commands the
highest price, which Is s45 unless 1t is the cocka.
kilios, and he Is worth $780, Some Of the lower
grades fetch only SO. The "Troopial," OF South
America, is the handsomest OF all the above named
birds
Our talk with our readers snail relate to such OF
the European birus as we have chosen to mention
above and 1t shall be OF an nformatory character.
We were gratified to find the demand for these
charming household minstrels was on the increase.
In NO part or the world do they command the
average high price nor are there many sold In
proportion to tho population as in New York city.
As look statistics we say to ourself, "This
speaks well for "a nation Of shopkeepers.'" Bring
on, say we, your winged flowers and Tying gems.
We have money and to spare for all that Is beautl-
ful, social and refined.
We shall first speak OF the universal favorite.
THE CANARY,
about which we have before us such beautiful
piece OF poetry that we cannot refrain from CIV
ing IT,
God pleas thee and thy joyous throat,
Thy tn J, thy churr thy piercing note,
5sos sp, .so Of somG thou wsssrro0k
Vocabulary
Thou Gagged up treasure Of delight
That knowest 10 make prison bright
Through misics mystery;
Anon the highest sound divide,
Like fagannL
Where didst ,hou gain this wondrous lore
Where that which admire still more,
Tha. smiles Al prison bars and doors.
In Loneliness spirit pours,
Of mrhiu minslrelsy.
All our readers know how the canary looks, and
therefore description Is useless. They all know
that he Will live In any sized cage, but may not
know that he Will sing best In q moderately small
sized round wire cage. Give him two perchcs, and
clean them when you clean the bottom OF his cage,
once or twice week. II you let the perches get
rough IRON any accumulation his feet will become
sore. Keep the cage bottom covered with dry,
gravelly sand; give the bird fresh water to drink
Rnd bathc In every day, and have his seed cup filed
with fresh crop, glossy canary seed; and from time
70 time ill II with hemp and canary Seed mixed,
and sometimes rape and canary seed, mixed. They
also ike chickweed, lettuce and cabbage, and 1t
would be well to put little OF either in the cage
every week. In winter you can give the canary
piece OF sweet apple, and a piece OF cutteash
fastened TO the wires OF the cage hurts HIM.
Keep the bird in a moderately cool room, out OF a
uraught. The canary can stand a great deal
OF cold. Sometimes his claws may want cutting.
Do this with sharp scissors. out mind you do not
IN
are needed for the OF a bird kept only to sing
and you had better give him nothing else at a ven
ture, sucn as cracker or lump OF sugar from the
table. He does not need IT, and II particle OF but
Ter adheres to IL you Will lose your bird. Salt or
butter Kills him.
The canary bird came originally from the Canary
Islands, and were more oflen OF gray green color
than yellow. The best singers among are mix
ture OF the lnne and canary; but these never breed
ana the supply can only be kept up by mating the
female canary with the male linnet. In Germany
ana France much attention Is paid 20 breeding
canaries, both for profit and pleasure ana about
one-eighth OF the number we see In New YorG were
raised here by persons actuated by the same mo-
uves as those across the Atlantic.
The canary seed that Is shipped here comes from
the East Indies, and is the best IL Is packed Ia
small barrels, holding about two-thirds as much as
our common-sizcd nour barrels do the slaves being
very narrow, and made with great precision.
No Gagged bird Is more easily taken OF or pro-.
pagated In cage They will cross with the linnet,
siskn, and goldnnch that Is the female canary Will
mate with the males OF the above birds, but the re
verse cannol De. What we deem most interesting TO
our readers on that which remains to be said about
the canary how to breed them, which Is very
simple, but requires some care and attention. TIVE
weeks before the pairing season comes put IN
female In a square cage fully two feet long ant
about twenty inches nigh and wide; place II in re
tired corner OF the room where 1t Is intended tC
remain. In addition to the usual daily seed give
her about one-elghth OF a bard-ooned egg
chopped up fine, yolk and white together
Give the male bird also In his cage th'
aame uantity OF egg. Al the expiration @