Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-08-13
The Care Of Canaries.

,
you would observe quantity OF rooms
arranged very much after the style OF
the sleeping apartments OF hotel.
Each of the rooms is properly furnished
with light, ventilation. a quantity Of
small trees, feeding boxes. water for
bathing and drinking, and on the sides
OF the room quantity Of nests, ana
the floor covered with saud to the depth
OF three or more inches. IN this room
are placed twenty or more male birds
and three times their number Of
females; and from The large feminine
family every male chooses his mate. und
live ,ne large, happy family together.
The young birds axe taken al the age
of six wes ks, az they can crack seed
land we will lcre remark, ihat, when
they are fully f,athert,,, they commence"
to MARBLE; that is, they fill Their throat
in the same name: as an old singing
| bird; and this is The only way that male
birds can Lc told i:om females when SO
young) and places IN large cages, say
twenty five bind. t, cage, and kcpt in
rooms holding about twenty such cages
until they are Though moliinS; for Il
young bird az soon as lie is i'll full
body feathers; las tail and wing feathers
he she,s The second season. This mott
Ing process requires about six weeks,
after which they arc taken away from
the sound OF ali Staging canarIes into II
room having 4 SMALL opening iii the
top; and in the loom above them is
kept nightingale, skylark or some
other tiue whlsiling bird, the best of
his species, who &'',s as instructor for
the young birds. 1t is from this iii
structor they get these beautiful notes,
the bow-trill, the beil-notc, the flute,
the water note, etc, which are SO much
admired. At the age of six months
they become adopts at singing.
"A suitable cage Tor breeding can be
either of wood, wire, or the ordinary
japanned tin ca, or brass. Should
you use an old w. ,den cage it should
be thoroughly scAIded with hot soda
water, to kill all vermin, and then var
nishcd over. The bird should have Il
nest. Wire is the best, securely fas
tened into one corner of the cage, first
covering the nest with canton or cotton
aud wooden flannel, and hung up against
the wall at least foot above your head :,
and in u southern aspect if possible,
and not moved until you are through
breeding for the season. There should
be placed in the cage piece of old
mortar to make egg-shells from-with-
out this the female will lay soft-shell
eggs. The female will sit upon the
eggs thirteen days when the operation
of Matching commences.
Birds are Matched one each day until
all the eggs are Matched. If it should
happen one or more of the eggs remain
in the nest, and do not hatch at the
proper time, it woull be we'll to take
them out of the nest carefully, using
for this purpose teaspoon, SO as not to
handle them, aud hold them before a
strong light, and if there is the appear
ance of blood veins, place them back
carefully, for they may yet be Matched.
II, upon the other hand, the egg be
clear and transparent, it can be thrown
away as worthless. As a rule, never
throw away an egg until it has been laid
at least twenty -one days.
From the time the young birds are
born the male birds helps to feed them,
If he is good father, and so partially
relieves the female. Eating the eggs as
soon as they are laid usually occurs
from improper feeding. Birds that are
mated require rich food, and this should
be given them three to four weeks pre-
vious to mating them. When this is
done 1t is very rare the eggs are dis
turbed.
The richest and Best food for young
birds, in addition to their mixed seed
no hemp-should be the following:
One hard-boiled egg, tho whole egg
grated on coarse horse-radish CRATER,
and one common soft cracker rolled tiue
with rolling-pin, or carefully grated
and then mixed together, and fed to the
birds i'll small quantities ut least twice
per day; and tins food must DO contin-
ued to tue old birds until you are
through breeding; and the same food
must be continued to the young birds
until they can crack seed, which they
will do with ease at tho age Of six
weeks. 1t is, however, an advantage to
soak some rape seed and put it i'll for
the young birds as soon as they can
leave the nest.
Another source of great annoyance
to bird breeders is, that occasionally
the old birds desert the young and leave
,, them to starve. This / never knew to
occur where birds were placed as al
ready DESERT ed and always fed and
cared for by the same person. 1t is the
constant annoyance to which bird is
subjected that occasions this, and the
> fault OF those who have had this ill
luck. They take pride in the birds
they arc prospectively going to raise,
and as soon as they are from the egg the
cage Is taken down on all occasions, and
shown to every visitor, and when it is
too much trouble to take it down the
step ladder or chair is brought into
.. action, in order to show up the bird
family, and then the question is asked
Why did my old bird desert the young
before they were week old?" Ii you
have had this ill-luck you see wherein
success awaits you in the future. Oc-
casionally there ie no apparent cause
for the old birds deserting the young.
When such is the case aud the old birds
are very good ones, it is we'll to bring
the young up by hand, using the food
described above, and using quill with