When the young are to be reared by the stick, they must be taken from the mother on the eighth day, taking nest and all. Prior to this, the food should consist of a paste composed of boiled rapeseed, the yolk of an egg, and crumbs of cake unsalted, mixed with a little water; this must be given every two hours. This paste ought not to be too wet, and must be renewed daily, until the nestlings can feed themselves. The hen has generally three broods in the year, but will hatch five times in the season, each time laying six eggs. The process of moulting, which takes place five or six weeks after they are hatched, is frequently fatal to them. The best remedy yet known is to put a small piece of iron into the water they drink, keeping them warm during the six weeks or two months which generally elapse before they regain their strength. This malady, to which they are all subject, is often fatal to the hen after the sixth or seventh year; and even the cock, though from superior strength he may recover, and continue occasionally to sing, and survive his mate four or five years, appears dull and melancholy from this period, till he gradually droops, and falls a victim to this evil. If it is proposed to rear gay birds, the cock and hen should be of the same deep colour; if mottled birds are required, both parents should be mottled. When a gay bird and a fancy bird are matched, they are termed mule-birds, because they are irregularly mottled in their plumage, and therefore of no value, although they be equally good singers. The spangled or French canary cock, with a mealy hen, often produces beautiful varieties. * * * * *