It is very easy to teach a kitten to be cleanly if you exercise vigilance at first and provide a shallow box or pan half filled with ashes or sawdust. One thing which must be understood by the city housekeeper whose pet has to depend entirely upon the box is that it must be emptied regularly, at least once a day, and, if necessary, twice. Neglect it and the animal’s instinct of cleanliness is offended, and it will select some place for itself, thereby falling into untidy habits. RAISING CANARIES FOR MARKET Canaries are dear, fascinating little creatures to keep, and no special conditions for raising which cannot be successfully accomplished in a limited space. The most fastidious woman cannot object to caring for a few families. One male and two females will start a profitable flock. The male bird should be selected for his voice, regardless of his color or shape. The two other birds, on the contrary, should be selected for those very qualifications. The male should be darker and deeper in colour than the female. In fact, male birds, with green on their wings and heads, mated with pale females, produce the best-coloured young ones. Never allow two top-knot birds to pair, for, oddly enough, the progeny will usually have bald or deformed heads. A breeding cage with separate compartments costs at least $4, but a very good one can be made at home out of empty dry goods or grocery boxes. Of course, it must be a well-made, smooth one, otherwise it might hurt the birds. Painting is not advisable, but it is well to rub off any rough surfaces with coarse sandpaper. Remove the lid and one side of the box. Leave the bottom, one side and ends intact. Turn the box so that the remaining side becomes the bottom of the cage. Next get a piece of sheet zinc, nick the corners, and turn them up all around, to form a tray an inch deep. This is to fit inside the cage. Square-meshed, galvanised cloth is the best for the front and top. Fasten it to the back, ends and front with matting tacks, leaving a space at the bottom in front for the tray to slip in under. Put a partition through the middle of the cage, with a small door in it. A door is also necessary in each compartment. The ordinary seed and water dishes can’t be improved on by home contrivances, so add them to the purchased list. Two half cocoanut shells, or small boxes, must be hung up on the end or back of each compartment as foundations for the nest. Cover the bottom of the tray with a thick layer of bird-gravel, and hang up materials for nest-building in each compartment. Dried moss, bits of raw cotton, or short fine hay, are all suitable. The material for a cage three feet long, eighteen inches high and deep, will only cost a dollar, so the homemade cage, in addition to being an economy, has the advantage of size, which means a great deal in a breeding cage, as it allows the birds so much more exercise.