While birds are sitting, the supply of food should always be very abundant. Where hard boiled egg is given, powder it fine and mix with grated stale bread. Only a small quantity should be given at a time, and it should never be left to get sour in the cage. Well baked stale bread answers very well mixed with pounded hemp-seed, some say pounded rape-seed, and Mr. Kidd recommends bread and milk; just enough cold milk should be poured on grated bread to moisten it. The day before the young are expected to be hatched, and afterwards, some grated bread, soaked in water and pressed dry, and a finely chopped up hard boiled egg, should be put into the cage in a saucer. This should always be given in the evening, an hour before the birds' usual roosting-time, and again in the morning as early as it can be conveniently done ; eight or nine o'clock will do, but then the evening supply must never be omitted, that it may be ready for the early hours of small birds who often die for want of an early breakfast. For bread some persons substitute biscuit. A second saucer should contain rape-seed, which two hours before has been boiled, and afterwards washed in cold water, to take away its pungency. The main thing to be attended to, is, that no food intended for young canaries should stand until it becomes sour, as sour food is as injurious to them as to young infants.

The chief occupation of the male now, for some time, consists in supplying the young with food, which he takes almost wholly upon himself, probably with a view of allowing the female to rest after her fatigue.

If, in consequence of any accident, it should be necessary to feed the young birds by hand, the best food is wheaten bread, or biscuit grated fine, mixed with rape-seed crushed small. A little of this food, moistened with yelk of egg and water, should be given to each bird, by means of a quill, ten or twelve times a day. About four quill-fuls will be found sufficient for a meal. A lady says, "four living nestlings are a common thing with us, but then we are not too helpful to the parent birds, but let them alone. Once the hen died, and the male seemed perplexed as to how he was to act nurse, so we undertook to help him, and by feeding endlessly from early morning to quite evening, we contrived to rear a tame and pretty set of little downy birds."

Look at the nest of young birds twice a week, to see if all is going on right; if they appear red, with their crops full of victuals, you may be assured they are doing well; in case, however, you find them of a sickly pale hue, without any food in their neck or crops, most likely the nest and birds are infested with vermin. Change their nest box and nest for a new one immediately, made warm with a hot egg rolled in it, which should be done as expeditiously as possible; for many hens are of a very fretful disposition, and will not sanction any interruption to their maternal care, often forsaking their young by too much familiarity. When this happens to be the case, feed the young occasionally with a small bit of the yelk of hard egg dissolved by one or two drops of clean water; add to this a little sopped bun or sponge-cake, forming it into a thinnish paste, and with the point of a wooden skewer feed them every hour, to keep up their strength. If the old hen or cock should feed them, you need not. Oftentimes the cock will bring them up, although the hen may have forsaken her little ones; do not, therefore, keep them out of the breeding-cage, but give the cock every opportunity to supply them with food from his fostering mouth. In case he does not do it, they may be taken entirely away, and brought up by hand; keeping their nest covered with flannel to prevent cold.

Sometimes, when the eggs are irregularly hatched, particularly under a young mother, she feels so anxious for the eggs not hatched, as to refuse to leave her nest to feed the young ones that have already come to life ; and thus the poor birds get starved. To prevent this, take care everything enticing in food, as egg and crumbs, fresh greens, etc., is provided and given over night. Then watch, to see if the hen feed, or the cock carry food to her; if neither be the case, you must put the hen off her nest, and if she sees plenty of food, she will eat; and the hen, thus induced to take food, will, when she sees the young ones gaping for food, feed them, which will induce the cock to assist her in this duty ; for when once the cock sees the hen feed the little ones, he will follow the example.

The pious and excellent Dr. Watts has borne testimony to the harmony of the early condition of these birds :

"Birds in their little nests agree."

But it is well the worthy Doctor stopped here; for no sooner have the young of the canary scrambled from their cradle, than they fight like young harpies.