The Sentinel. [volume] (Trenton, N.J.) 1880-1882, 1881-01-22
The Trade in canaries.

| IL may not De generally known That
! the importation of canaries from Ger
many to this country amounts to nearly
eighty thousand birds every year. The
importation began about the year lS47,
and has been steadily increasing ever
| since. One important firm imports
nearly hall Of all the canaries brought to
this country. Almost without excep-
ton the imported canaries now come
from the little 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 number about four
thousand souls, make almost as much
money as the men by breeding cana
ries. The industry sprang up about one
hundred and fifty years ago, and has
since been carried on steadily, certain
families having worldwide regulations
among bird fanciers for the peculiar ex-
cellencies 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, two
hundred in a crate, and the losses on
the voyage are usually very small, not
amounting to more than five per cent
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 average
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 the reporter said that there
were more than fifty well-defined breeds
of canaries in Europe, but that in trade
not more than dozen were recognized.
The highest priced birds came from
Belgium, and could be recognized nj a
glance by their long, thin forms. Great
care was taken with the training of
these birds, and $40 was frequently
paid for a 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 excellent Andreasberg birds which
sing pleasantly may he bought down.
town for from two to three dollars.
Uptown the price is little more. The
canaries which are wild in the Canary
islands have but little natural song. In
the public gardens of Teneriffe they may
be seen by thousands, somewhat smaller
than the European bird and with but
little song. A canary has no natural
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
musical qualities of imported birds. No
reason for this degeneration is known,
| unless, it is surmised, the German cana
ries profit by the nightingales, 'linnets
and other birds which they hear and
w hich cannot be brought to this coun-
try. It seems reasonable to suppose
that 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 the American canaries
TO sing as perfectly as Europen birds
has succeeded. A dealer told the re-
porter that he would not give dollar
apiece for q thousand American Ca
naries 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 ncommon.-New York Eue-
ming Post.