Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1886-01-13
TnE TRAINING or DlRpa
rcaching Canary Rirds 10 Sing hr 4
Last Twenty Years.

ttaE I6A1NkN0 VI BlHUA
r-sAcAins Canary Birds 10 sing fSr III.
Last Twenty Years.
II have been teaching canaries Il
sing for twenty years." said George
Horst, OF 005 Leithgow street. BE.
ginning In . very modest way, I have
increased the number OF my yellow.
tcathered pupils until nov / have SOC
birds . year pass through my hands,
all OF whom receive the benefit OF my
musical tuition. / teach the birds to
sings water rolls silver rolls pipe
notes half rolls full rolls and ~'trills.
In addition to this, some OF my mos,
accomplished ~canaries are taught to
sing German airs as correctly az any
cantatrice. and such American tunes az
Yankee Doodle.
@iou wonld like to know whether
lind much difficulty in instructirg the
birds in singing. Well, not so much
now. There is q method in it, the result
OF many yeers OF experiment. / know
now how to put a yellow-feathered
songsser through his PAGES, so to speak,
until he learns how to MARBLE.
"The first great thing in producing a
tine singer is to start with first-class
stock. / am SO careful in this Joint
that / would not take an ordinary So
canary ont OF the bird-shops as q gift,
because his few mild notes would spoil
my whole collection, oil OF which are
raised from the purest strains in ca
narydom. I obtained, when / began
the business, some OF the most magnifi-
cent singers in Germany, and crossed
these high-bred birds with the best-se.
lected American stock. and the result
was birds SO faultless that ! have never
tried to improve them-only to keep
up the standard. l give the greatest
attention to wedding out all birds in
my collection which display any ten
dency to utter wild notes, and if l find
such q canary / would give him away
Immediately, il / could not sell him.
Of course ] am sometimes obliged TO
get new birds, and / 4 do get some from
q man who has many ofthe finest spec
linens now imported, but these are only
females for breeding purposes to cross
with my males.
"How do ! teach the birds to sing?
They are first put into a large. light
cage, in lunches of o dozen or fifteen,
when they are past their moulting-say
when they are six to eight months old.
The cageful of infant canaries is put in
o room where n bell-c!ock is continu.
ally rolling out melodioas. rippling
song. The music OF the clock starts
the canaries to singing, in different
styles, and in o few weeks they trill.
roll, and MARBLE as clearly ms the lark
in o green meadow. They are a allowed
to keep mp their chorus in the cage for
some time. in unison with the bell
clock, and the birds are separated and
placed in dark cages. These z be-
ing made OF solid wood, with only small
ventilators to give the birds fresh air,
shut out all distrac.ing sights and
sounds, and, to keep up their spirits
probably. they sing as loudly as posi-
ble, Keeling of triiis and rolls and orig.
inal roundelays by the hour. When
they become constant singers in the
dark cages / consider the education of
the birds ended.
THAT Is, generally; for there are
some birds SO highly gifted with the
sense OF song that their proficiency
may be greatly increased, and with
these ] pursue q long course OF train.
ing. They are taught to sing pipe
notes. short melodies, by being placed
in a solitary while l play softly the
same tune, constantly repeated upon a
small silver whistle. When the birds
have acquired all that is possible in
pipe tones they are placed awhile be.
side an old canary, lannon's for its sing
ing, and in this position they soon get
the secret OF their fellows singing.
Then. il they are to be drilled in sing
ing melodies, they are taken into q roo
and kept there alone, while the tune to
be taught them is played again and
in the morning and evening, upon
musical Internationally a
small organ. The education OF I'M
RES cannot be carried much farther
after they learn TO sing two or three
tunes. but a few OF them a be taught
to music.
"Do | have any difficulties in train
ing birds to sing? Any amount of
them. Sometimes / breed q bird that
will not sing at all-cannot be made to
sing, and all the patience and time
on such a creature is clear loss.
Then MOI one canary out of six can be
to sing a tune. and as you don't
know which one that is until you try,
much ofyour time goes for nothing. If
a bird hanging in a window hears ON.
other bird sing q wild rote. he will
catch these wild notes immediately,
and no amount Of correction will cure
him. A canary is just like a child: it will
all the bad tricks possible, and
is the great point We have 10 guard
Sometimes o canary three
months old can be taught to sing;
again q 9~.months-old bird will not war
BILE q note, and the difference in the
length OF time niece ssary to complete q
canaryls education varies from six to
twelve weeks. -Philadeiphia Nens.