Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1874-06-25
Birds in the Civ.

DO not bellevs we have no birds in Nav
ork' ne sParroWs are now found in multi
tudes in all the city parks, and the ooIIaot;o-,
OF Dlrds' 1orelgn ana domestic, in the Central
Park IS one of the finest in the world P1t
says the Herald, the New York taste for and
appreciation for birds is shown most consn;c-
uously in the number and kinds of birds pos
sessed by its private citizens. Pigeons are fs-
vOrites with New Yorkers, especisIly the va
riety known as "button head almond tamdlerg ;
One gentleman has collection of these birds
worth 5000 Carrier-pigeons are also not un-
common. some varieties of which are valued at
S0UU pair, and upwards.
1t IS calculated that there-are at least doz-
en- private collections of pigeons in this citv
NoH %0rth over $4,000 each, some ranging over SIS,
wv ana one or two as high as SO, 900. Al
Iogether there are fifty or sixty varieties of
fancy pigeons known to New Workers. Game
fowl are not so popular in New York now as
formerly. Still, some fine specimens are fo he
found, as much as 800 being refused for
single hen. Among the varieties offancv fowl
most affected by the rurally disposed New
7 orker are the black Spanish, the white Leo
horn and the Cochin. These average in price
from SIS head upwards. There are many of
our New York merchants and professional men
who have invested from $500 to 50 900 in their
stock offancy fowls. As to singing birds there
is no city in the Union where they are more
numerous and appreciated. The favorite song
L
have been made to rear canares in this coun-
try, but so far uns ucces sfully. They are
brought over in the steamers from Germany.
A canary costs from six to fifteen cents; in this
city eanaries cost from S27 to $50 dozen. A
good canary IN New Y ork will cost on an av-
erage 50. One lady on Twenty fourth street
has collection of seventy two cauaries vaIu-
ed altogether at ST 900. Besides the canary.
the mocking bird, " hich is of Southern origin,
the nightengale, the startling, are all we'll
known. Mocking birds range in value from
$5 to 5000. A good starting that can talk and
whistle is worth from $40 to $50 Nighten-
gales cost from SIS to 800. Thrushes, gold
fnches blackbirds and Iinets have also attract
ed the attention of our bird fancIers to a great.
er or less degree. Highly trained parrots are
also not uncommon, and some are valued at
eXtravagant sums. fl.
The figures relative to bird keeping in New
York are really surprisingly large. There are
eight large establishments in the metropolis
transacting a heavy trade in "birds," and
over one hundred other minor bird stores
Several hundreds of people earn an easy ample
livelihood by raising fancy fowl for the New
York market, and a small army of agents in
Europe are kept busy sending over choice birds
Many of cur private citizens, such as DR.. Rob-
inson, have invested thousands of dollars in
choice birds. There are said to be fiVeprivata
collections of birds IN this city worth over
$4,000 each, and at least twenty cost ingoVer
$4,000 each; while the total money value OF
'Fthe birds of New York; may be set down as
exceeding So 600 ,000,--TN Y Observer