Sharp County record., 1881-03-24
Canaries...SOme Facts About Trade in
Them.

/ 1t may not be generally known that
the importation OF canaries from Ger
many to this country amounts to nearly
50. 900 birds every year. The impOrta-
ton began about the year 1s+7, and has
been steadily increasing ever since.
One important firm imports nearly half
Of all the canaries brought to this cOun-
trv. Almost without exception the i'm
ported canares now come from the lit
tie town of Andreasberg, in Hanover,
Prussia. The town nestles among the
Hartz Mountains, and most OF the men
are miners, the mines Of cobalt, lead,
nickel and iron being among the best in
that part Of the country. The women
of the town, the population Of which
numbers about 4, 900 souls, make almost
as much money as the men by breeding
canaries. The industry sprang up about
$50 years ago, and has since been car
ried on steadily, certain families having
worldwide reputation among bird fan
ciers for the peculiar excellence OF their
birds, the training OF the birds being a
matter Of skill handed down in families
from generation to generation. The
birds pair in February and begin to
come to this country about June. They
come in crates Of little boxes, such as
they are sold in, 200 in a crate, and the
losses on the voyage are usually very
small, not amounting to more than five
per centum. The little wooden cages in
which the birds are imported and sold
are made BY the children and women OF
the Hartz Mountains, and cost there
four cents apiece. Dealers pay an a7-
erage price of fifty cents for their birds
and take the risk of transportation.
There is no duty on canaries.
The bird fancier who gave these de-
tails to reporter. said that there were
more than fifty weIl,dehned breeds of
canaries in Europe, but that in trade
not more than a dozen were recognized.
The highest-priced birds came from
Belgium, and could be recognized at a
glance by their long, thin forms. Great
care was taken with the training of
these birds, and twenty dollars was fre-
quentIy paid for good Belgian singer.
In Europe birds were sometimes sold
for much higher prices than this, but
were never imported to this country.
In New York fair Belgian singer is
worth from six to ten dollars, but ex-
cellent Andreasberg birds which sing
pleasantly may be bought down town
for from two to three dollars. The
canaries which are wild in the Canary
Islands have but little natural song. In
the public gardens of Tenerife they
may be seen by thousands, somewhat
smaller than the European bird and with
but little song. a canary has no natu-
raj song, and if not taught will not sing
at all. Bird-fanciers say that American
bred canaries are Of no great value be-
cause their notes never possess the mu-
sical qualities of imported birds. No
reason for this degeneration is known,
unless, as is surmised, the German ca
naries profit by the nightingales, linnets
and other birds which they hear and
which cannot be brought to this cOan-
try. 1t seems reasonable to suppose
that a young canary would sing in the
same manner as the parent birds; yet
this does not seem to be the case. No
plan for teaching American canaries
to sing as perfectly as European birds
has succeeded. A dealer told the re-
porter that he would not give a dollar
apiece for thousand American canaries
delivered at his place of business. The
average life OF a canary in this city is
from three to seven years, most OF the
diseases, according to experts, being
due to uncleanlineSS in their cages and
want of sunlight. Instances of canary
birds living for twenty years are, how
ever, not uncommon.-N Y. ErsHing
Post.