The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1876-02-25
OUR FEATHERED FRIENDS.

hALNDOe
Som. thing About the Trade In Canaries
and Other Birds, with Hints As to
Their Proper Food and Treatment.
A reporter of the New York Graphic
has interviewed a leading bird importer
in that city, and from him obtained the
following interesting information con-
corning the feathered pets of our house,
hold:
Twenty-eight years ago the taste for
singing birds barely existed, and in
their first year the firm only managed
to sell 1900 birds, all of which were
disposed of in this city. The trade has
grown largely since then, and last year
the sales of the house amounted to $4,000
canaries alone, which were sent to all
parts of the Union, and some of them
went as far off as South America. The
canary is the staple of the business.
WHERE THE CANARIEs COME FROM.
These birds almost all come from the
Hartz Mountains, in Germany, and the
country surrounding, where, though the
bird is indigenous to the Canary Is
lands, it has attained its greatest per-
lection as a songster. In fact the
modern canary is the result of careful
breeding, and is as much superior to
the original stock as the Durham short
horn cow or the Berkshire pig is to the
Adams and Ewes of the bovine and por-
cine species. The canary of the Canary
Islands is sharp billed, shrill-voiced
little fellow very similar both in per-
sonal appearance and in note to our
own yellow bird. By persistent re-
gard to the advantages to be gained
from artificial selection of the breed
ers and by musical training the
Hartz mountaineers have devel-
oped the modern canary, and
created trade which helps them to exc
out a precarious existence. These peo-
pie are mainly dependent upon their
wages as miners, but the mines are so
deep down in the earth that the most
robust among them is unable to work
longer than three or four hours out of
the twenty-four The balance of the
working day they devote to training
their birds and making the wicker cages
in which they are transported abroad.
The principal colors of the canary are
dark and pale yellow, green, cinnamon,
meal color, and almost white, but al
though there are many popular fancies
to the contrary, there is no judging of
the birds musical powers by the color
of his plumage. The only advantage
presented by peculiar tint is the fact
that straw-colored bird is generally
the hardest, as it is the most thickly
feathered. The price of a canary runs,
a ,cording to his singing powers, from
SO to 81. The Reiche Brothers bring a
batch. of birds over by every Bremen
steamer; the number imported at time
running from 1900 to $500. They had
1000 choice singers on the Deutschland,
| which, Of course, were all lost. They
have a regular contract with the COM
pany for a certain amount of space. and,
excepting the months of July and Au-
gust, when the birds are too young to
be handled, two employees leave Bre-
men and New York weekly. The birds
are brought over in crates, and are not
at all affected by the voyage, the aver
age of losses by death from the time
they leave the Hartz Mountains unit
they are sold in this city being but be
tween six and seven per cent.
| KILLING WITH KINDNESS.
The average duration of canary's
life is, or ought to be, from five to sever
years, but, unfortunately, after hi:
transformation from an article of com
merce to an interesting and too mucl
beloved pet his chances of achieving {
ripe old seven years of age are very
poor indeed. Occasionally, yet very
seldom, neglect is the cause of his pre-
mature taking off, but as rule it is du'
to a mistaken kindness, combined will
an ignorance of what birds require
ments really are. The over-kindness
as a rule, makes itself shown in thu
providing the bird with table delicacies
Thus it happens that the little bird VIII,
carols his way into his mistress's affec
tons too often lays the foundation TO
his own death. The lady is enchante,
and consequently grateful, and prett,
depart from canary and rape seed mix
ed, or canary seed straight, is varie,
with slice of pound cake, half a doze1
grapes, a lump of sugar, and, by the ad
vice of the groceryman or druggist VIII
has stock on hand which he wishes t
dispose of, generous allowance Q
hemp seed, which of itself is more pei
nicious than all the rest combined. TIL
canary being an unconscionably greed
fellow takes kindly to this treatment
and munches away all day long at cak
and grape and hemp seed, the onl
, thing left to trouble him being the evel
| recurring hope that some day his mi:
f tress will see the propriety of removin
, the insipid water from the glasses of hi
I cage, and for digestion's sake substitu