The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1882-07-14
Teaching BirS


Few birds that are esteemed rs pets in
a household sing their natural song. If
they did they wouldn't be 50 highly
priced. The canary. even, IS trained to
his song and the young bird IS kept. 10y
the careful breeder, IN the company OF
only the best singers So is the bull
finch, the starting, the blackbird and
others whose songs make them so yalu-
able to dealers SO the song birds are
never taught to improve their songs IN
this country. Dealers say 1T is because
we haven't men on this side of the At
lantic who will enter into competition
with the trainers in Germany. The
Americanized foreigners find that this
business doesn't pay. So even those
who have been in the business in the old
world drop it when they come here.
Yet, in small way these trainers pursue
their vocation here to some extent rather
for. recreation than remuneration. These
efforts. however, are directed mainly to
the training of speaking birds ike the
parrot and magpie rather than the
songsters There lives on Roosevelt
Street an Alsatian who has accomplished
a wonder in the training of a common
field robin The bird SvsIs kept by him
in Il dark room with a small music box
SET to play only one tune. My Mary
Ann made popular by Harrigan and
Hart in one of their farces. Afdozen
times a day or more the music box
: ground out this one tune. The owner
of the bird is good whistler and some-
thing of musician, At such odd
hours as he could get from his
work he went to the room where
the bird was confined and whis-
tiled the tune Occasionally he would
take his violin to the room and play My
Mary Ann The robin heard no music
but this, and as a consequence IN q
couple of months began TO sing this song.
When he got so he could whistle it from
BEGINNING to end his improvement
ceased. And now he sings at intervals
this plaintive air in rivalry with the
music-box, and much to the delight OF
its owner The initiative faculty thus
developed has clung TO the bird, who IS
now constantly picking up new notes,
and has perfected itself in portion OF
one of the airs from ''Fatinitza- 1t has
also learned TO speak three French
phrases, and has acquired the habit OF
/ calling out in shrill whistle, Jules,
the name of its owner son. Altogether
/ it is a famous bird, and its owner Will
/ not part Win II .lOI ANY dAAONAAb ~
money The method pursued by this
Alsetian is that pursued by all trainer;
in Europe who make the education o.
song-birds specially The bullfinch L
I their favorite student, because it learn;
the most readily, can acquire two OF
three tunes and IS a fayorite IN the
/ market. These trainers. generally peas
ants. viii fill darkened room witt
cages of bullfnches, and teach them bl
the use of what is known as bird-orgaI
to whistle some particular tune. Th'
bird-orean is baby hand-organ, ant
pIavs only the one song the teacher de
sires his scholars to learn. This 1
ground out to them a dozen times daily
and in a month or two the pupils ar
i graduated, and apparently revel in theI
education, abandoning their natural son!
for the artificial one. The violin o
music-box is often substituted for tn
/ bird-orean, but one of the three IS Away
an accompaniment to the education OF
song bird. The young canary takes II
schooling from its male parent, an
young birds while in training have
other education than being confined IN
room with number of the best singers
IN. T. Times.