The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1875-07-29
SOME FACTS ABOUT BIRDS.


Fedfhered S0nOsters. II
Few, if any, of our many amateur fan-
ciers Of birds have any idea of the extent
to which the traffic in these feathered
pets exists here in our own city of Gin.
cinnati.
Having our curiosity excited in this
direction, we sauntered, the other day.
into one of our numerous and, as we
thought, small bird stores, to CLEAN a
few facts with regard to our little pets.
"Chirp," ':chirp," "chirp," came from
all sides as the reporter entered the
door, which announced his coming by
the ceaseless alarms of little bell at.
tached to its top.
The little old bird merchant, grizzled
and gray, like Sinbad's "Old NJ an of the
Sea-" appeared.
swell, my friend, anything to-dayr
eyes," was the reply. "TeH me where
you get all these BIRDS" u i .Yt
."From many places" said he, smiling.
"From Germany, from South America,
these canarles;1a 1apoiittiEg at O large Pile
of little square wooden cages, hardly
large enough for q bird to live in, 'sthese
caparies ! get from the Hartz Noun.
tains, in Germany" Ft sse
GLOW do you catch themp
"Oh, we don't catch then," said the
dealer, laughing a dry, curious laugh.
"They raise them."
''TheyW
eyes; the miners in the Hartz noun
tains raise them. They rear hundreds
of them every year."
"Tell me something about the raising
nc trdc fha L..
out his notebook and pencil.
.Well," was the reply, s'tiIe miners get
a large room, and put in about one hum
dred male birds and two hundred fe.
males, and the women folks and children
tend to the birds while they are breed
ing. Then around the sides of this large
room, while the birds are young, they
hang cages containing the finest singing
birds, and the young birds are thus
taught to sing. Those little wooden
cages the miner makes himself on rainy
days, with nothing but his pocket knife.
Then after the breeding season is over,
the bird dealers in Bremen and other
large cities send agents into the noun
tains who buy up the birds at an average :
Of 81 10 apiece for the males. Oh, yes, 1t
pays we'll; moro money in it for them
Fellows than for us. These agents then
carry the birds over the mountains on
their backs to Bremen, and from there
they are sold to New York, Baltimore,
New Orleans, Cuba, and almost all
parts of the world. We buy our birds
IRON the New York Dealers"
SLOW many do you generally handle
during season?"
"Well, canaries and finches together.
from six to seven thousand"
"What" sald. the reporter. "Now,
see here, my friend-o
"Pledge you my word" said the deal.
er, smiling. "Here are my bills of lad..i
ing: thirty racks-200 to. 2.5 birds in a.
rack-yes, seven thousand anyhow.
Why, we send birds way out to the
Rocky Mountains, way down to Texas
anywhere. Yes, sir, there are more than
fifteen thousand birds come from the old l
country to this city every year."
"HoW many stores such as this are
there in this cityr s5 elQ 4
IL don't know; not so many as in some.
places. In Philadelphia there are 81; in
New York and Brooklyn together over
1i3. Why, the duties at the port of New
York were for last year Sc, $50 on canary,
birds Alone"
In further conversation with this and
other dealcrs-mostly Germans, by the
way-some astonishing figures were de-
veloped concerning the extent OF the,
trade. One dealer alone has shipped
from this city to New York this season
], ,347 young Mocking birds. These birds.
mostly come from Bayou La Fourche
and other points in the State of Louisi-
ana, where they are caught by the plan
tatlon negroes and bartered at the couu.
try stores tor dry goods, chewing to-
bacco, &C., the average price being about
sixty-fiye cents for bird. The demand
tor Mocking birds. is mostly confined to
this country; not so, however, with our
common RED bird, it being great favor
tie in Europe, bringing an average of
from SS to 50. Wholesale, even in Ger
many. !,
Besides the Canary, there are sent to
this country from Europe large pumbersc
of Bulitinches, Goldfnches, Siskins, Lir-i
nets, Chaffinches--all Of which, exGept
the Bulltinch, will cross with the QahafY.l
The Nightingale, so famed In s0hR ana,
poetry, Is becoming very scarce Id stK15.
country, owing to the Jealousy Qfs TIE,
German Government, which has pfst6 ds
a tax Of SO on every bird Of this sk466
in cage, ana has, moreover,
limited each owner to two birds only. -
Other, though not so popular vly7etias
Of imported birds, are the Bllck Gap,
Sky Lark, Wood Lark, RQbiD Redbfeass
Thrusbs SJaSlipg S4d. 1ls6E blrd.