Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1891-10-09
THE CANARY BIRD.
The GRAY, THE YELLOW, THE WHITE.
BLACKSH AND CHESTNUT.

Ing Va the MISUNDERSTANDING the
Young by Hand.
Among the different tribes of song birds
Iiie canary has long been established as the
I@N"rlte' Its melodiouS song, beautiful plu-
mage ana domestic habits having won for it
d pace IN every household, and gained for it
u. 11ie name OF the universal parlor bird.
me Oahary Islands are the most frequented
HauhlS OF the species According to the obser-
VatlonS of Adamson, Labillariie and others
lue prevailing color of the bird in its wild
state Is gray or brown, mingled with other
culoFS' Out never reaching the brilliancy Of
plNmage exhibited by the bird in captivity
me Introduction Of the canary into Europe
Is stated by some to have taken place in the
rour'eehth century, but Bechstein sets it
down as the beginning of the Sixteenth.
The principal varieties are the gray. the
yellow, the white, the blackish and the chest
nut ana Ii IS from their combination that
we derive The numerous varieties known to
breeders. Those canaries that have the upper
part of the body Of duskv green or linnet
brown and the under part the vellowisb green
OF the green bird with dark brown ewes. are
'1e strongest, and most nearly resemble tile
primitive bird. The yellow and white often
-
chesfnutS are the most common. and hold a
middle rank for strength and length of time
between tie two extremes. As the pllIInaga
OF the intermediate varieties is a niytt1ra If
the principal colors enumerated, THEN. yaIua
depends on the pretty and regular manner in
which they are marked 1t seems to he nd
united by competent authorities that tina
canary most admired among fanciers is the
r,yrl,i
particularly if crestei-wings and taiI
yelowish dun The second in degree is Of a
golden yellow, with the head. wines and tail
oiack' or at least dusby gray Next follow
the gray or biackiSn with a yellow head and
collar, and the yellow, with blscl,;sb ~,
green TUT, which is very much valued
Those that are ilTegularly spotted, speckled
or varicsated are much less SOUGHT aftar thar,
the Others. and are used to pair with those of
one color, such as white, yellow gray or gray
brown.
The canary breeds freely with allied sne
cies OF birds, and many hybrids are recog-
nlzed by breeders, among them being the
following: Mules bred from the hen c9naIv
and goldtinch, male siskin. grecabird or
ciuiltinch, as well as those bred from a hen
canary and a linnet or bullfach. Besides
y
birds have been tried, but have not proved
successful. u all recorded instances ,vbara
mules have been bred the canary has AL
ways been the mother, the reason being that
female OF the other species could not be in
duced to lay her eggs in an artificial nest qs
the canary does. In order to obtain BRIGHT
and good plumage, those birds whose coiors
are clear and whose spots are well defined
should be placed together. A brownisb gray
or greenish bird paired with one Of a lively
yellow color often produces young of dim
white and other admired colors.
An eminent authority, in speakinp Of fine
choice Of bird, says: Sacrifice color IN
accomplishments; you viii never repent il
Nature seldom gives us rare beauty and
great accomplishments united" Canaries
seldom show a sulliness of disposition. and
experience goes to show that this amiability
Of disposition is quite characteristic of this
bird Of the Fortunate Isles, whose nature ap-
pears to be at sunny and genial as the cline
from which it originally came. Although
the canary, as a domesticated bird, is the
easiest of all others to take care of and his
treatment the most simple, there are many
persons whose ideas on this subject are very
limited
As to their food, the more simple and nat
ural has been always found to be the most
productive of good health and cheerfuIness:
while, on the other hand mixtures. intro
duced by many, such as hemp, oatmeal,
oats, sugar, sweet cake, biscuit and such like.
so far from being wholesome are injurious,
The main point is to obtain pure and fresh
seed for them. Rape seed, when old or kept
too long in damp place, becomes mustv.
gets bitter taste and won't agree at all with
birds. The canary seed must be clean and of
a glossy hue, feel heavy, to be free from
masty smell and have a sweet taste.
Persons keeping canaries for their singing
should keep them in cages of about a foot in
diameter, either round or square. as in a
large cage they will not sing 50 well, having
too much room to fly about and amuse
themselves, which, in a great degree, takes
away their attention from singing. 1t is |
not necessary to keep these birds in a very
warm room i'll the winter season, as they can
endure great deal of cold without injury.
but they should be kept i'll as equal tenn
perature as possible.
A short time before the birds are put to
breed they should be fed with higher food,
such as hard boiled egg, chopped up fine, |
white and yolk together, exclusive of their
general seed
Good birds, when put together, will gener-
ally mate within week. which is ee SLY |
known by their attention to each other. |
After mating they commence building the |
nest, and in about week the hen begins to
lay from two to six eggs, one each day in |
succession, on which she will sit thirteen |
days, when the young ones will come out one |
after the other. 1t is wrong to take the eggs
from under her while she is laying for the
purpose of Matching them at one time; it is
best to let nature have its way in this case
As soon as the little ones are Matched they
may be fed, beside their general seed, with
egg boiled hard, chopped up fine and an equal
quantity of grated cracker, mixed together
with the egg and boiled milk into paste
This food must be given to them fresh three
or four times day for the old birds will be
more inclined to feed the young when fresh
food is handed them An extra cup should !
be handed them containing soaked rape seed. |
1t is sometimes necessary to bring up young |
canaries by hand, and then paste should be |
made of stale bread or biscuit, pounded very |
fine, rape seed well bruised, a little of the |
boiled yolk of an egg and some water. They |
should be fed with quill cut into the shape
of spoon, and should not have less than ten
or twelve meals a day, four beakfuls const1- |
tuting a meal.
Son the thirteenth day says Bechstein, a
great German authority, they will begin to !
feed themselves, and in four weeks they may
be removed to other cages. Care should be
taken, however, to supply them for some
time with the paste described, together with i
the food of full grown birds, as sudden !
stoppage in the supply of the former has
been frequently known to occasion death, |
especially if the nesting is deprived of it
when molting.-New York News.
Rinsing Out Poisons.
A curious and novel method of saving |
life in certain cases Of nuisoning has been |