The New York herald., 1876-09-03
FEATHERS, FUR AND FIN.
Birds for the Aviary, Squirrels in Cages
and Gold Fish in Globes.
THE PRlsoNED PETS OF CITY LIFE
Where They Come From, What They Cost and
How to Keep Them.


How to Keep Them.
In all Europe there ia district Of country which
has - wtesd romantic and tender an atmosphere a.
that where tho we'll wooded orsss Of the Hsrz Noun
tains up the gray-blue cloudand reared TO
the pagan gsAs feastsd wahailA and whose epic
has just been set In wondrous showing as Bairssth
Long years passed the writer Of these lines
wandered r0sag with Hrebrsndsd Ipsnstock In hand
and deity packed knapsack ON back, amid the noun
fassnsssss depths Of that mystic region,
sometimes camping Oat beside the nouidsrng plies
the charcoal burners and resting beneath tho
carved gables Of some old inn peopled with ghosts Of
the bold rittos and sturdy buryhers who laid the
foundauon Of the Fashcrland Of to-day In the midst
Of those mountains nsstles little burgh named AIT
feld whsre the air from dewy morn to dusky eve Is
secuted with the song Gagged ~arbisrs leapng
into the sunlight from every easement and doorway,
drowning tap OF tho ooboer and the nipnip OF the
tailor. scarcely hushed by tho rough clansclang
sAa. comes from the anvil Of armed black
snith
Atlsd 10 indeed . city Of singing for In II are bred
and born the sathered songsters erst Of the lesfy
grove but now fated TO 1--we out their listle lives in
dusty towns, where they bring to weary artisan and
dainty OF that which Is 10 the one
unattanable and by the other eliminated During my
stay Atfsld fell in with Theodor voigt, and, ~
he could speak EDgiish We became great fricnds
Presently paths In life parted he went biz way
and went mine, until, the other day, We mot IN .
Broadway car. and discovered that he was keeping
bird store Sixth avenue, near the Eagle Theatre,
and the next evening had . talk on tho subject
which Is the theme of this article. told him the OBJ
tsct Of my visit, and asked him how he would divide
bros for that purpose He replied
''Perhaps best way separate them into hard
billed and sof.bilcd. The former, such canaries,
goidnnches. lnnets, siskins, bobonks, bainnches,
Brazil cardinals, American cardinals, Java spArrows
and all the African varieties live seed whe the lat
ter including mocking BIRDS nightingales, skylarks,
thrushes, starlngs, troopias and blackcaps are IN
secsivorous, and require food Of that nasure''
(which species most dcmand?"
''The canary by far; then the Java sparrow and
mocking bird next the gold and bull nnches thrush
and skylark.' "
Where do the oanaries como froms"
'You ought TO know that without asking, for
together in tho greatest breeding psse in the
world near old Altfsd, III tho Hartz Aountana ORR
s,nay the bird from tho Canary Islands. OF the
northwest coast of Africa but all those the Aineri-
can market are imported from Germany Indeed, all
the foreign birds you around youcanares, larks
thrushss hnches nghtingales, and SO orth-are bred
among tho Hartz Mountains. Or course, II customer
wants Irish thrush he gets It, another English
robin rcdbrsast then do my best supply his wants;
but probably the bird he buys chipped the egg
under The red, whitc aud black standard, and not
under the green Dag the Union Jack. The birds
are bred in The spring and early summer and the i'm
portaton TO this country begins September and
tinues until April. The birds consign-
meuts OF from 400 to 500 Al time, and many
81, ,OO0 will arrive In one season."
"Who are The leading imp0rtersY''
thsr of Nos. l03 and los william street. started tho
The" Charles Rich srother 81 Chatham street, % are
heavy importers, and Louis Rube Of the same locality,
does u large share o the Wholesale trade"
''Tell me what the outward signs OF q good
canary"
81. used be said that good canary should be able
70 pass through wedding ring, but long birds
played out except for beauty and in appearance
and II you want = good singer choose short bird"
'Csn you tell me how 70 Tell male from female
.'Not very easily dealer tell the hen a
glance BY certain aasness OF the head but Il takes
full grown Bird and even the best judges not In
fxlhbla Tho cock sings wno tho hen does not, aud
they generally divided of In the nest when the
chicks are six weeks old. Then you which are
trying 10 warbIe, and preserve them"
''Whxt are the signs OF age ?'
1.-THE claws are all you look but have known
birds live eight and ten yours. and sing well
to the very last"
what the retail prccs?"
GOOD singing canaries range from So to SO When
you 10 birds who sing tunes then you get fancy
prices )"
''How are birds taught to sing tunsss'
"rne bird ,cither canaries or bulldnches can DO
taughO Is takon out of nest very young and
broush up by hand. II is kept IN . darkened room
and every morning and evening the
wnisiled 10 II in the same Key. Some trainers use
s,ra organ or musicai box This is done Tor threo or
TOUR months At least and then perhaps she tutor will
leach Il another tune"
.'whal are birds that sing tunes worth ~
"l'vc known bullnnch Ihat whistied yankee
DOODLE bring $50 and have heard OF birds that would
bringing e15Q Asa rule, however, tunes are valued
szo or so apiece extra prices being paid for extra
..wLs. about trick bi rds?"
"You teach almost any bird tricks. Mr.. Gen hes
Of Wheeling, W Va. is the best trainer in the coun
try. Take the bird when he young aud he learns
easily 70 tell numbers, porch your finger take
rom your lips, aud so forth The easiest TO teach
the Java sparrow, the troopial and the hnches. -
'Glvs me more particulars about sho birds last mon
t:onedS"
common variety, gray, with black head which
worth So 70 s. SO pair, and the other all white
which rs much more valuable Ten years ago the hrst
pair Hamburg, aud were sold Tor 400 frussIsn
halers. that Is about $500 Now they are worth about
el5 pair. The troopla bring from $5 10 slo each,
and tho fnchcs from 81 10 S.. ="
.What other hard billed birds theres"
"Linnets which are worth 81 10 81 each. Tho
handsome bird scarlet with black breast ana worth
from ~ 90 10 s. NOnpareils and grosbeaks from tao
southern states. are worth 50 TO 81 sacn Yellow brds
indigo birds, which are caught near the city. and
bring from twenty tive cents to 6fty cents Tho bob
olink. wo Oh from seventy nve cents TO 81 and host
Of African 6irds-wsxbs avsdavsis, Japanese nuns,
worth from 81 to $40 |ece. These last are in de-
mand Tor aviariss BY the way, forgot TO mention
mules They are bred out OF canary ben by y nnch
hnnet sskn sing the natural notes OF both
parents They are hard to raise and bring from S. TO
BIO esch. "
sAre there many In the citys"
sUf late years y great number have been stocked
nth IRON fifteen 70 forty BIRDS could give you the
names OF families who have been supplied by me
bus would prefer not to do So.
what 10 tho best food Tor hard-bod birds ?"
.Give them German rape and canary seed mixed, .
little bit OF lettuce and then, hard boilcd
egg = fortnight ana sauu or cuttlehsh shell
pAck rusty IRON nail the water Is lAyorcL By