canaries bird

The Mode of catching a Woodcock.--Fac-simile of
a Miniature in the Manuscript of the "Livre du Roy Modus" (Fourteenth
Century).

"It is satisfactory to observe that at that period measures were taken topreserve nests and to prevent bird-fowling from the 15th of March to the 15th of August. Besides this, it was necessary to have an expresspermission from the King himself to give persons the right of catchingbirds on the King's domains. Before any one could sell birds it wasrequired for him to have been received as a master bird-catcher. Therecognised bird-catchers, therefore, had no opponents except dealers fromother countries, who brought canary-birds, parrots, and other foreignspecimens into Paris. These dealers were, however, obliged to conform tostrict rules. They were required on their arrival to exhibit their birdsfrom ten to twelve o'clock on the marble stone in the palace yard on thedays when parliament sat, in order that the masters and governors of theKing's aviary, and, after them, the presidents and councillors, might havethe first choice before other people of anything they wished to buy. Theywere, besides, bound to part the male and female birds in separate cageswith tickets on them, so that purchasers might not be deceived; and, incase of dispute on this point, some sworn inspectors were appointed asarbitrators.No doubt, emboldened by the victory which they had achieved over thegoldsmiths of the Pont an Change, the bird-dealers of Paris attempted toforbid any bourgeois of the town from breeding canaries or any sort ofcage birds. The bourgeois resented this, and brought their case before theMarshals of France. They urged that it was easy for them to breedcanaries, and it was also a pleasure for their wives and daughters toteach them, whereas those bought on the Pont an Change were old anddifficult to educate. This appeal was favourably received, and an orderfrom the tribunal of the Marshals of France permitted the bourgeois tobreed canaries, but it forbade the sale of them, which it was consideredwould interfere with the trade of the master-fowlers of the town,faubourgs, and suburbs of Paris."

Pigeons must be excepted, if their society be not necessary either for food or habitation, of which I am uncertain. Society among that species is extremely intimate; and it is observable, that the place they inhabit contributes to the intimacy. A crazy dove-cot moved the proprietor to transfer the inhabitants to a new house built for them; and to accustom them to it, they were kept a fortnight within doors, with plenty of food. When they obtained liberty, they flew directly to their old house; and seeing it laid flat, walked round and round, lamenting. They then took wing and disappeared, without once casting an eye on their new habitation. Some brute animals are susceptible of affection even to those of a different species. Of the affection a dog has for his master, no person is ignorant.

A canary bird, so tame as to be let out of its cage, perched frequently on another cage in the same room inhabited by a linnet; and the birds became good friends. The linnet died: the canary bird was inconsolable, and forbore singing above a year. It recovered its spirits, and now chants as much as ever. [[“Some brute animals . . . much as ever”From Henry Home, Lord Kames, Sketches of the History of Man, vol. 2 [1778]