to select their mates themselves, exists in the fact that birds of the same family cannot be paired with impunity. Two of my birds were mated by mistake who were brother and sister, and almost all their young were feeble, blind, or deformed; and this is frequently the case, I believe. When the pair have made friends, and the cock bird begins to feed the hen, they may be put into a proper "breeding-cage," or into a common wire cage with compartments. Birds are sometimes put in pairs in an aviary or large cage, with nesting-boxes or baskets in the corners, but it rarely happens that matters are carried on amicably thus. One box or basket is selected by two hens, perhaps, and neither will be persuaded to build or lay their eggs in any other box or basket; consequently, there will be constant combats over the right of possession, and when one hen succeeds in establishing herself on the nest, the other will stand by her till hunger drives her to the seedbox, and then she will take possession of the nest. Then jealousies and rivalries will occur both between the husbands and their wives: each pair will do far better apart, either in an orthodox "breeding-cage" sold for the purpose, or in a cage divided into compartments (with a space between each), in which the nest-boxes or baskets are placed. There is some advantages in the breeding-cage alluded to, and those birds who are shy and court retirement for their nursery cares prefer them: they should not be less than twenty or twenty-four inches long, by twelve wide, and fourteen or sixteen inches in height, boarded at the top and back, and with wired front and sides. They are sometimes boarded at the sides, but the nursery compartment gets so close in hot weather that the wired ends are far preferable, and a piece of brown paper or brown holland can be placed over the upper part. Underneath the part partitioned off for the two nest-boxes, should be a compartment for the young birds to be placed in when it is necessary to remove them from their parents. The ob

jection to this cage is that the nest-boxes are necessarily placed so high up in the cage that the young birds sometimes fall out, and get seriously injured in consequence. One of mine had a broken back, and another a dislocated leg, from an accident of this kind, when they were quitting the nest. Moreover, it is not so easy to keep clean as the more open cages, and the perches are generally fixed into the wooden back. Therefore I much prefer using an open wire cage, with a movable wire partition at one end, for the nursery for the young birds; and hanging up boxes or baskets for the nests in the larger compartment, at a moderate distance from the floor, so that the young birds are in less danger of becoming seriously damaged by a fall from the nest. Some hens, however, will not build in a box placed low in the cage, and when this is the case, they must be allowed one placed nearer the top, which can be moved when the young birds are nearly fledged. All hens like to have a covering over the top of the cage, to give shelter to the nest. Some prefer baskets to boxes; but they are often lazy about building a nest in these, whereas they cannot well dispense with one in a square box, though even in this, some hens will content themselves with putting the nest materials in, without taking the trouble to arrange and weave them together. In this case, it is best to make a nest of moss, cow-hair or deer-hair, and cotton wadding, using this last sparingly, lest the birds should get their claws entangled in it. They will generally lay their eggs contentedly in this, but if they pull it out of the box and scatter it about, they must be left to their own devices till the young birds are hatched, and then, if the mother bird is not very wild, she will allow a little arrangement to be made for their warmth and comfort. Any change, however, must be made very cautiously, for some birds exceedingly object to their nestlings being touched, and will desert them if they are meddled with. The nest materials should be hung up in a net, if possible, outside

the cage, or they will soon be scattered all over it; they need a little wool to felt into the harder materials, and some birds will not build without it. The hen lays four or five eggs-one each morning as a rule; sometimes she will begin to sit as soon as she has laid the first, but it is best to leave her to herself, and not to substitute ivory eggs, as is sometimes done, unless she shows a disposition to eat her eggs; and if this is the case, either with her or her husband, they are not likely to succeed in their nursery. But the attempt may be made to take them away till the hen is ready to sit, and then give them back to her. She will sit thirteen or fourteen days. If after waiting a day or two no young birds appear, the eggs should be put into warm water for a minute: if they float they are in all probability addled and useless; but if they sink, they may be replaced in the nest for a day or two: if not hatched then, they should be taken away, or the hen will go on sitting in the vain hope of hatching birds which are dead. The egg food which I have mentioned, and which should be given to the birds as soon as they are mated, must be put into the cage in readiness for the first appearance of the young birds, and it is necessary to watch the old birds' proceedings, as now and then they are unnatural enough to leave them unfed, and occasionally the cock will maltreat them, and pull them out of the nest, or peck them. Some birds are very shy of being seen to feed their young, and it is very difficult to find out whether they perform their duties or not; others will delight in seeing them noticed, and will call our attention to their infant brood, apparently with very great parental exultation.

The father generally takes the greatest share of the duty of feeding the young, and feeds his wife also while she is sitting on the nest; but sometimes a cross-grained bird will be annoyed at her attention to them, and will not only neglect, but injure them. If he does this once, he must not be trusted again, but removed, as soon as the young are

hatched, to the next compartment, and the mother bird will bring up her brood by herself. If, however, the cock begins to feed the young birds, they may be left to themselves, but constantly supplied with food, till the hen begins to pick up materials for another nest; then another box or basket must be given to her at once, or she may, perhaps, drag the nestlings out of their nest in her efforts to make a fresh one. Sometimes she will lay her next set of eggs in the old nest among the young birds, and will even sit upon them with the first brood all around her; but this should not be permitted, and, as soon as they are fledged and able to leave the nest, they must be put into the nursery compartment, in which a nest can be placed for them to roost in at night. The father will feed them through the wires of the division for some time, but they must soon have some egg food placed within their reach, and, in due time, crushed hemp and canary-seed and water must be given to them, and they will gradually learn to feed themselves, though not without clamouring for food from the old bird whenever he comes near them. They begin to see when they are nine days old, and generally leave the nest at the end of a fortnight; when they are a month old, they may be removed to another cage, but the soft food and crushed hemp-seed must be continued till after the first moulting, which generally begins when the young birds are six weeks old, and tries their strength a good deal. They must now be put within hearing of a good songster: they will often begin to warble before they have done moulting, and they will need a singing-master. A German Canary, Nightingale, or Woodlark hung up in a cage near, but out of sight, will teach the young cocks best; and, if they hear no other bird singing, they will acquire his notes. I had a bird which sang exactly like a Nightingale, who had learnt in the same way. It is not easy to discover the sex of the young Canaries: the hens warble too, and, indeed, old hens will sometimes acquire a short song, sufficiently connected

to cause them to be mistaken and purchased for cocks; but there is much more movement in the throat of the cocks, and as the song becomes more powerful, this is more and more exhibited. During the first moulting, of course, birds require even more warmth and nourishing food than at other times; if the new feathers do not come easily, a warm bath might do good, but it must only be given on a sunny day. By degrees the young birds should be accustomed to a cold bath, and most of them will take to this eagerly when they see the old birds washing and preening themselves, and will imitate them; but some will refuse to go into the bath; and, if they are not accustomed to it in early life, they are very troublesome to deal with afterwards. I have purchased birds who never could be induced to bathe; but I have led them to partial cleanliness by sprinkling water over them, and sometimes after they have been wetted thus once or twice, they have gone into the bath, or have sprinkled more water over their feathers from the water-glass. It is of great consequence to accustom all birds to bathing; it will prevent a good deal of discomfort from clogged feet, and keep them from being infested with parasites, little red mites which torment them exceedingly, and which are very difficult to get rid of. Tobacco blown over their feathers and powder sold for destroying insects sometimes prove efficacious; and a bath of tobacco-water (a weak dilution) might be of use; but if a cage once becomes a harbour for them it is very difficult to dislodge them; and an old cage is a dangerous habitation if birds troubled with them have been kept in them. The "Zollverein" and "Pagoda" cages, made of metal, are sometimes recommended as less likely to become a receptacle for these pests; but they have the drawback of being very cold to the birds' feet in winter, and very hot, if exposed to the sun, in summer. They are generally very small too, and not nearly so convenient to the inmate of the cage as the mahogany and wire waggon-shaped cages. If these are kept clean and the birds