The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-04-25
NEW YORK ASA BIRD CENTRE
NO TRUST BUT ONLY TYO IM-
 PoRTERS,
Who Supply the cOuntry-sOO,OOO Can. aries Received Here in a Year-The Many ThOasands OR Parrots-HIgh Prices for Fine TsIkers-Osher Cage Birds in Request

biEus tu hf4utH
 A paragraph was recently printed in a morning paper to the effect that A. 600 canaries unloaded in crates from the steamship Koenigin Louise on her arrival at this port, were consigned to the Trust" aud that nobody now could get a canary, parrot, or various other birds kept as household pets without applying to the trust for them" It was further said that the Trusts headquarters were in Grand street. and that Bernard Ruhe was the president.
 MT. Ruhe said to-day that no Trust had been formed in his line of business. Ii was true that there had been some talk in the last year about organizing such Trust. but it had come to nOth- irg. As it was, he and one other were the only importers of birds in New York. and all the birds shipped to this country were received in this city. ex- cept a very few sent from Australia to San Francisco. shipment of 4,000 canares at on time was q common consignment in the season, which ex- tended from the middle oe September to about the first of April, He received about 4,000 every week in that period. and the other importer about as many. Altogether each of them imported about 150,000 canaries year, which were sold to the retail dealers in this city and all over the United States.
 All these canaries, it was said. are obtained from Germany, where the bus mess Of breeding them is now scatter ed all over the empire, although it was formerly confined to the Harz MOun- tains Many people there make it their entire business while others, engaged in other vacations, make the raising of canaries a sort of "side show." from which they derive enough money tn pay their rent. The best singing birds are still procured from the Harz Noun tains, where the breeding of canaries was begun as early as the sixteenth century and has been carried on ever since. In Germany canaries are bred only for song, while in England some are bred for size and color. Some birds are bred in this country, but they show a tendency to "hark back" from yellow plumage to the mottled green coats of the wild birds in the Canary Islands, and they are not as good singers as the German. The retail price, here of good young bird from Germany is about $2.50, but prices run up as high as $25 apiece for trained singers. The latter are educated by being put when young in the company of other fine singing birds, such as the nightingale, many of whose notes they learn to im- itate.
 The demand from all parts Of the world for the German canaries, MT. Ruhe said, is so great that this coun- try can't get enough of them. The av- craze purchaseraf canary, he added, does not keep it alive more than six months as he Cor she) will persist. ill hanging its cage near window. AL though hardy in other respects the birds cannot stand draughts, and when kept by a window they are very liable to take cold and die.
 Next to the eanaries. the largest bird importations are those of parrots. The greater number of these are the Cuban birds. which have white head, and red breast. They are good takers. Agents of the importers make contracts with country people in Cuba, who get the parrots out of their nests in the forests when they are very young and therefore easily tanned. About 15,000 of these birds are imported to New York annu- ally, and are sold, untrained, for $4 or & apiece. Next to these in number are the Mexican parrots, of which there are several varieties. Most of the 4,0O0 or 5000 a year which are brought here are of the kinds known as the double yellow head. The former are the best takers, and as young birds sell for s15 or $20, while the red heads fetch the same price as the Cuban parrots.
 The finest takers are the gray Afric- an parrots. but, although they are in good demand, it is said that only 100 are sold to-day for every 800 that were disposed of in this country years ago. The demand fell off ct one time be- cause people had become afraid to buy them. they were so likely to die on the purchasers hands. When the demand increased again, the supply had become inadequate. As a matter of fact, it is said, the popular idea that these parrots are delicate is mistake, as they are arar1 hof f,dinr thay7 ha Movirap birJc.