The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1894-05-19
NOVEL SINGING SCHOOL.
Whore Little Bullnnches Arc Taught che
Vocal Art.

NOVEL SINGING SCHOOL.
Who're Little Bullnnches Arc Taueht che
Vocal Art.
One of the best cage songsters that
comes to us from across the water is
the little bullfnch, a small, shy bird
, which inhabits the vvell-wooded dis
sficts Of Asia. central and southern
Europe, and parts of England. 1t is
| found in this country only a cap
| tive: At home the bullfnch attacks
! the young buds of fruit-trees, and In
ours the enlnitv Of the gardeners all
through Europe; but the bird is such q
| sweet singer and w histler that his
fault in this respect is overcome by his
excess of good qualities. In Germany
| thousands of bullfinci1es are bred and
| trained for the market every year, n nd
many are imported to this country as
cage-birds.
At Hesse and Fulda are several cele-
brated sfnging.ecl,ools where these
| singers have their voices and ears
trained almost to perfection. Germany
has supplied to the world some of the
grandest human lnt1sicians; and she
excels as we'll in cultivating and train
ing the little bird-musicians sent forth,
to all parts Of the world.
| The little bt1llflnches are raised in
confinement, and when YER: young they
are divided into classes of six each.
Each class has a separate room, where
l
| hess. with plenty of food near them.
This Is before they have yet learned to
whistle and initiate the songs of other
birds. Suddenly the sweet notes of an
| organ startle the birds, and cause them
to hop around in their dark prison. As
| the ti1usic continues, their spirits be-
| come cnlivened. Soon they pick up
| some of the food and cflirp forth a few
| crude notes in imitation of the music.
Light is then gradually allowed to en-
I ter the room, thus increasing the hap
piness of the singers. and they break
| forth into ecstatic song. The music is
| con tinned all day. and the enthusia site
| birds try to follow and initiate it until
fairly exhausted by their efforts.
This is the preparatory school; and
| after each class of six has spent some
| time here. the several birds are handed
| over to training-boys whose business it
| is to continue their instruction. The
| advanced pupils are ia ken into separate
rooms where organs are played from
early morning and night. The organs
used are ordinary organs that have soft.
| pure, Aute-like notes, with nothing
| i1sreh or disagreeable in the sound
| Some birds Gro trained by means of
the flute, but in the larger establish
ments small organs are commonly
used.
! piness. and the little creatures arc kept
, in the best of spirits. The owner
comes around every day or two to ex-
anime his pupils. So well does lie I'M
1ersta nd the natures of the little singers
; that he reproves or praises the various
: ones in a manner that they perfectly
understand. This training goes on for
eight or nine months, when the birds
are ready for their diplomas. If their
. voices have acquired firm ness. and they
do not forget or leave out passages in
their songs. they pass examination,
civ
school. There are different grades
of pupils in these bird seminaries,
las in every other large school.
and, while the majority can re-
member only simple air with short
prelude, there ore some intelligent
many as three different airs, without
spelling or confusing them. Such
| bright birds are often kept longer in
the seminary, and postgraduate
; course is given Them
! In this course they are taught to
initiate the songs of other birds, which
they do to perfection; but care is taken
to preserve their memory Of the early
: education. They are also taught
amusing tricks, which increase their
value as performers. The birds from
these German seminaries are distrib-
; uted MI over the country, and are sold
| for good prices. Sometimes on first
| being taken from their seminary
home the bullfinch becomes gloomy
and quiet, and refuses to sing. This is
| an important period in his life, and the
new owner should at first occasionally
! play the air that the bird has been ac-
! customed to hear on the organ. This
| will cheer the captive's dropping cour-
| age, and start it into song once more.
These bullinches begin their train
| ing about four days after they are out
| of the shell, and are not dismissed un-
til nearly years instruction has per.
| fected their voices. Like the parrot,
they are very attentive, and they will
learn some of the harsh notes of their
parents if allowed to remain with them
many days. They never pipe until
they can feed themselves, and then
they are given correct piping to
initiate. A high, pure, manly whistle
will be responded to by them in full,
round, fute-like tone. Bullfnches
brought up carelessly soon acquire bad
ha bits in their singing, but those sent
from the German singing schools very
| rarely offend in this way. They carry
their diplomas with them, and they do
credit to their instructors. - George
| Ethelbert Walsh, in St. Nicholas.
The Name OF Turner.
Not every Turner owes his name to
a lathe-working ancestor, for, as Mr..
Dayies wrote in his account of the
York press, the elaborate initial and
capital letters and horeated marginal