One cannot well see the shape of these insects with the naked eye; but, with a magnifying glass, they resemble somewhat the bug species. If you kill them on white paper, it is stained with blood; in fact, it is evident that they wholly subsist on the blood, which they extract by slow degrees from the vitals of those little songsters. Hence arises much disappointment as well as vexation during the breeding season. The poor hens often get blamed for neglect; but are not such continuous torments enough to make the birds quit their nests even when the young ones have been formed in their shells ? These little vermin, which you can scarcely see with the naked eye, so completely worry the poor hen, that she can sit no longer on her eggs.

On going into my breeding-room, I have found, in one or two instances, hens dead on their eggs; the poor things were mere skeletons. On examination, I found them covered with small insects, and the nests and nest bags swarming with the same sort of troublesome vermin, which must have sucked them to death; the poor old hens were sitting on their eggs in their usual position, suffering themselves to be worried to death rather than quit their charge. We do not, however, generally find them inclined to put up with such repeated torments; and they are therefore necessitated to forsake their eggs or young.

The birds, sometimes, after breeding properly, will, without any apparent cause, coolly fill up the nest, generally with some white stuff, and quietly forsake it. This is usually when they have been disturbed by strangers, or when the eggs are addled.

The latter is sometimes caused by thunder or other loud noise. In such case, remove the nest, and give facilities for making a fresh start; also change the situation of the cage. When it would be troublesome to remove the nest, it may remain ; but deserted nests are bad nooks for insects, and a bird is all the better for not being reminded of its former failure. A real good bird for sitting and bringing up her young is a great acquisition, and should have every advantage ; if she is an inferior bird, otherways, first-rate eggs can be substituted for her own. Some mischievous birds will break and suck their eggs as soon as they are laid ; to prevent this, supply them with plenty of food every night, that the birds may feed early in the morning: if this does not succeed, put a little mustard, or bitter aloes dissolved, inside a bad egg; when they begin to peck it, the bad taste may prevent a repetition, and in all probability induce them to rear instead of destroying their progeny.

As is the case with most birds, the female is generally the builder, while the male only chooses the place for the nest, and carries the materials. One egg is laid each day - generally at the same hour - till they reach five or six in number. If the birds be good sitters, it is sufficient to leave them to themselves, as they do not approve of any interference, and the less they undergo the better they will succeed. It is, however, usual to take the eggs away as soon as laid, supplying their place in the nest with an ivory or china nest-egg, and laying them up in a box, the small end downwards, in fine, dry river sand. When the hen has ceased to lay, the eggs are put back into the nest to be hatched. She lays three or four times a year, from April to September; the eggs are sea-green in color, more or less spotted, and streaked with reddish brown and violet.

The period of incubation is thirteen days. The male relieves the female at the labor of incubation during a few hours in every day ; though the latter flies back as soon as her hunger is satisfied, and if the male refuses to give up his place, drives him from it with beak and claws. She is probably aware that he will perform his office imperfectly; will not turn the eggs sufficiently often, or will allow them to become too hot or too cold. The life of the young bird, even in the shell, is very precarious; and it is often killed by the discharge of a gun, the slamming of a door, or any other loud or sudden noise.

"We dislike the practice of hanging cages, as people often do, by the side of a window, to be out of a strong light. The nest itself should be in a shady corner, and either a spray of leaves, or a piece of green baize, may be hung over the spot where it is being built; but of all depressing things to the old birds, and of all hurtful and weakening things for the young, the absence of direct light and of the warm soft rays of the morning sun, are the worst to which they can be exposed. Some young birds, in fact, leave their nests less than half fledged from this very cause, as nothing adds so much to the quick growth of the feathers, as the warm (not scorching) sunshine, such as flickers down through the leaves of some waving shrub; and the fresh air and moisture of the summer dew help the nestlings both in their growth and feathering.

If the hen should have fits while sitting, as is very likely in cold weather, it is best to put her very gently in a warm bath, laying her afterwards on a piece of heated flannel. The greatest care is necessary, however, not to hurt the bird while holding it in the hands.