produce of the land. When a farm is sold it usually brings as purchase money from eight to twelve years' net rent, the price varying according to the proximity of towns.

surprise, he found several of the natives speaking Spanisa. To account for this, it appears that about thirty years previously some Spanish vessels had touched at this island, and had left a priest there to convert the natives to the Romish faith. No written account of this visit exists. Bethencourt next went to Ferro, or Hierro, where he was received in the most friendly terms by the natives; he left a garrison in the island, and returned to Fuertaventura. In November, 1406, he mustered all his forces to make another attempt on the Grand Canary, in which he was again unsuccessful, and in consequence returned to Spain to soli cit assistance, but he died in 1408. The nephew of Bethencourt, in 1418, sold his right to these islands to Henry de Guzman, another Spanish nobleman, who expended large sums in endeavouring to subdue the other islands. He altogether failed in his schemes, though in 1461 the Spaniards went through the form of taking possession of Canary and Teneriffe.

The chief towns are, in the north division Batticollah, and in the south division Mangalore and Barcelore. Batticollah stands on the sea-coast in 13° 55′ N. lat., and 74° 37′ E. long.; it is situated on the north bank of the Scandaholay, a small stream which waters a beautiful valley surrounded by hills. Mangalore is built on the margin of a salt lake, which is separated from the sea by a sandy beach in 12° 53' N. lat., and 74° 57′ E. long. Mangalore is a place of considerable trade; the exports consist principally of rice, betel-nut, pepper, sandal-wood, and turmeric, to Muscat, Goa, Bombay, and the coast of Malabar. The imports consist of raw sugar and silk from Bengal and China, and of oil and ghee from Surat. The Portuguese had a factory at Mangalore, which was destroyed in 1596 by the Arabs from Muscat. In 1768 the town was taken by the English, but was immediately retaken by Hyder. In 1783 it again surrendered to the English, and was immediately thereafter besieged by Tippoo, and when at the conclusion of the war it was given up to that chief was little more than a heap of ruins. The fortifications have since been entirely dismantled. The population is estimated at 30,000 souls. Barcelore, supposed to be the Barace of the antients, is situated on the sea-coast 55 miles N. from Man-merce was entered into with the chiefs of that island in galore, in 13° 37′ N. lat., and 74° 47′ E. long.

The province of Canara, which till then had been subject to Hindu sway, was subdued by Hyder Ali, rajah of Mysore in 1763. On the death of his son Tippoo, in 1799, the whole province was placed under British authority; it has since remained in our possession, and in the enjoyment of uninterrupted tranquillity. The wars that had disturbed the province between its conquest by Hyder and its possession by the English had much reduced the population, and a considerable part of the country had been suffered to run waste and was overgrown with jungle. Since that time a great improvement has taken place in the numbers and condition of the people, which is shown by the better quality of their dress and greater attention to other comforts, as well as by a decrease in the number and atrocity of the crimes committed by them.

(Buchanan's Journey through Mysore, Canara, and Malabar; Mill's History of British India; heports of Committees of House of Commons on the affairs of India.) CANARIES, a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, lying off the coast of Africa, between the parallels of 27° 40' and 29° 30' N. lat., and the meridians of 13° 30' and 18° 20′ W. long. Lanzarota is the most eastern island of the group, and Ferro, from which the meridians used to be generally reckoned, is the most westerly.

These islands are by some supposed to be the Fortunate Islands of the antients; but others consider this name to refer to Madeira. Perhaps the Canaries however have the better claim, if we follow the description in Pliny (vi. 32), which is taken from Juba, the learned Mauritanian prince. Juba calls one island Nivaria, or Snow Island, which is probably Teneriffe; another island he calls Canaria, from the number of dogs of a large size that were found there; Juba had two of these dogs. It is probable that the Goths and Vandals who invaded the coasts of Mauritania may have been acquainted with this group; but the first account we have of them in modern times is about the year 1330, by a French ship which was driven among them by stress of weather. Upon this discovery a Spanish nobleman, Don Luis, Count of Claramonte, obtained a grant of the islands from Pope Clement VI., with the title of king. Nothing was however done towards making a settlement till 1385, when a fleet under Ferdinando Perara sailed from Cadiz and touched at Lanzarote, but was driven away by the natives. The next expedition was from Seville, in 1393, but no possession was taken of any of the islands. In 1400 another fleet sailed from Rochelle, under John de Bethencourt, and anchored at Lanzarote, where they built a fort at Point Rubicon. The adventurers then passed over to Fuertaventura; but being opposed by the natives they were obliged to re-embark. Bethencourt returned to Spain, and having obtained from Don Henry III. a grant of the islands, with the title of king, again sailed to Lanzarote with a large armament, and in June, 1405, passed over to Fuertaventura, of which he took possession. He next sailed to Grand Canary and Palma, from both of which he was driven by the natives. He was more fortunate at Gomera, where, to his

Some difference having arisen between Spain and Portugal with regard to these islands, in consequence of a second sale of them by the nephew of Bethencourt to the latter power, the Portuguese arrived in force at Lanzarote to take possession; but the dispute was settled by treaty, in which the islands were ceded to Spain. After various other fruitless attempts to subdue the Grand Canary, a treaty of com1476; but in the same year the court of Castille purchased the right to the three unconquered islands of Canary, Tene riffe, and Palma, and in the following year sent out a fleet to undertake the conquest of Canary, which hōwever was not finally accomplished till April, 1483, seventy-seven years after the first descent on the island by John de Bethencourt. In 1490 a fleet was equipped for the subjugation of Palma and Teneriffe, and arrived at Palma in September. Palma was taken about May following. The fleet then sailed for Teneriffe, in May, 1493, when this large island was reduced without bloodshed. Since this time the Canaries have always belonged to the Spanish crown, though several descents have at different times been made upon them, which have generally proved unsuccessful. Those nearest the African shores have been ravaged by Barbary

corsairs.

This group consists of the following large islands :-Canary, Teneriffe, Palma, Ferro, Gomera, Fuertaventura, and Lanzarote. There are also some smaller islands, as Santa Clara, Alegranza, and Graciosa. The coasts of the islands are high and precipitous, but here and there broken by deep clefts. The mountains generally rise towards the centre of the islands, bleak and bare, and are full of pointed rocks. During the winter there is snow on several of the highest summits. The Peak of Teneriffe, a half-extinct volcano, rises to the height of about 11,400 feet, and as it is viewed from the sea at a distance, seems to spring out of the water like a sugar-loaf. They are all of volcanic formation, and in parts exceedingly fertile; they produce grain and fruits, both tropical and European, in abundance. A volcano burst out in 1824 in the island of Lanzarote. The vine is largely cultivated, and in most of the islands wine is made, which is well-known in Europe under the name of Teneriffe,' that island being the principal seat of the wine trade. Sugar is also made, and there are manufactures of coarse linens, cloths, and silks. An active trade is kept up among the islands, and they have large fisheries on the African coast. There are no close harbours, the anchorage being generally open roadsteads, few of which can be considered safe except during the fine season. The depth of water between the islands is very great, and the passages are good. Supplies of provisions, &c., may be obtained from any of them, though some of the islands are without water, and depend on rain, which they keep in tanks. All kinds of domestic cattle abound, though only goats and sheep were found there. Camels have been introduced, but do not thrive well. Each island has its governor; but the whole group is under a governor-general, who commonly resides at Teneriffe, though all the law courts are held at Canary. Being situated within the general limits of the trade-wind, these islands enjoy a fine climate, and are very healthy: in summer there is a land breeze off them at night. The S.W. winds, though rare, blow strong and bring rain, while the S.E. wind is dry and hot, like the sirocco of the Mediterranean. The inhabitants may now be considered as Spaniards, though after their conquest they did not endea vour to extirpate the aborigines, who were called Guanches,

Table showing the annual proportion of deaths, &c., to the produce of the Island of Teneriffe, which were exported population.

The usual length of a canary is about five inches, of which the tail measures about two and a quarter. The bill is about five lines in length, strong, sharply pointed, and inclining to white. The shanks or feet, as they are technically called, are about eight lines long, and of a flesh colour.

The female is very like the male, but is generally less bright in colour, smaller about the head, shorter about the neck and body, not so high on the shanks, and altogether of a form somewhat less elegant than that of the male. There is a bean-shaped feather under the bill, and the temples and circles round the eyes are deeper in colour than the other parts of the body.

Islands, though in all probability it was exported thither | varieties, and it is from their combination, and from their from Normandy by John de Bethencourt, who invaded tints, that we derive the numerous varieties that we now them at the close of the fourteenth century. Purcell has, possess. Those canaries that have the upper part of the in his Diocletian,' introduced the Canaries. His tune is body of a dusky green or linnet-brown, and the under part in two strains of eight bars each, in three-eight time. the yellowish green of the green-bird, with dark brown eyes, CANARY BIRD, or CANARY FINCH-Le Serin are the strongest, and most nearly resemble the primitive de Canarie of the French, Der Canarienvogel of the Ger- race. The yellow and white often have red eyes, and are mans, Canario of the Italians, the Canary of the English, the most tender. The chestnut are the most uncommon, Fringilla Canaria of Linnæus*-the well-known songster and hold a middle rank for strength and length of life, which is to be found caged in every house where the in-between the two extremes. But as the plumage of the mates are fond of song-birds. The Canary Islands are the intermediate ones is a mixture of these principal colours, most frequented haunts of the species. In the wild state their value depends on the pretty and regular manner in the prevailing hue, according to the observations of Adan- which they are marked. son, Labillardière, and others, is grey or brown, mingled amongst us now is one with the body white or yellow, the The canary that is most admired however with other colours, but never reaching the bril- head, particularly if crested, wings and tail, yellowish dun; liancy of plumage exhibited by the bird in captivity; a the second in degree is of a golden yellow, with the head, brilliancy arising from long domestication and repeated wings, and tail black, or at least dusky grey. Next follow cros-es with analogous species. Its introduction into Europe the grey or blackish, with a yellow head and collar; and is stated by some to have taken place in the 14th century; the yellow with a blackish or green tuft, which are very but Bechstein names the beginning of the 16th. The much valued. As for those that are irregularly spotted, arrival, says the author last quoted, of the canary in Eu- speckled, or variegated, they are much less sought after, rope, is thus described :-A vessel which, in addition to its and are used to pair with those of one colour, white, yellow, other merchandize, was bringing a number of these birds grey, brown-grey, and the like.' to Leghorn, was wrecked on the coast of Italy, opposite the island of Elba, where these little birds, having been set at liberty, took refuge. The climate being favourable they increased, and would certainly have become naturalized, had not the wish to possess them occasioned their being caught in such numbers that at last they were extirpated from their new abode. From this cause Italy was the first European country where the canary was reared. At first their education was difficult, as the proper manner of treating them was unknown; and what tended to render them scarce was, that only the male birds were brought over,-no females. The grey of its primitive colour, darker on the back and greener on the belly, has undergone so many changes from its being domesticated, from the climate, and from the union with birds analogous to it (in Italy with the citril finch, the serin; in our country (Germany) with the linnet, the green-finch, the siskin, and the goldfinch, that now we have canaries of all colours. If we had not sufficient proof that canaries came originally from the Fortunate Islands, we should think the citril finch, the serin, and the siskin, were the wild stock of the domesticated race. I have seen a bird whose parents were a siskin and serin, which perfectly resembled a variety of the canary which is called the green. I have also seen mules from a female grey canary, in which was no trace of their true parentage. The grey, the yellow, the white, the blackish, and the chestnut, are the principal • Dr. Heineken (Zoological Journal, vol. v. p. 70) considers Fringilla Canaria and Fringilla butyracea as synonyms, and he there gives an elaborate description of the bird as it appears in Madeira. Of its habits Dr. Heineken says, that it builds in thick bushy high shrubs and trees, with roots, moss, feaths, hair, &c; that it pairs in February, lays from four to six pale-blue eggs, and hatches five times (not unfrequently six) in a season. He observes that it is very lami iar, baunting and breeding in gardens about the city. It is a delightful songster,' says the Doctor, with, beyond doubt, much of the nightingales and sky lark's but none of the wood-lark's song, although three or four sky lacks in coufinement in Funchal are the only examples of any of these three birds in the island, and notwithstanding the general opinion that sach notes are the result of education in the canary: it is in full song about uine months in the year. I have heard one sing on the wing, and passing from one tree to another at some distance, and am told that during the pairing spa-on this is very common. Each flock has its own song, and, from individuals in the same garden differing considerably, I suspect that of each nest varies more or less. After the breeding season, they flock along with linuets, godinches. &c., and are then seldom seen in gardens. The moult takes place in August and September. An old bird caught and put into a cage will som times sing almost immediately, but seldom lives longer than the second year in continement. The young from the nest are difficult to rear, dying generally at the first moult. They cross readily with the domesticated variety, and the progeny are larger, stronger, better breeders, and, to my taste, better songsters also than the latter; but a pure wild song from an island canary, at herty, in full throat, and in a part of the country so distant from the haunts of men that it is quite un-ophisticated. is unequalled, in its kind, by any thing i ha e ever heard in the way of bird-music.'

In the last edition of Montagu's Ornithological Dictionary (1833) it is stated that the Fringilla Canaria of Linnæus, whose habitation is said by Gme in and Turton to be India, is not this species, but an apparently spurious In the twelfth edition of the Systema Naturæ, the habitat assigned to Fringilla bu yracea is Madera,' and that allotted to Fringilla Canaria is the Canby Islands, Habitat in Cauariis Jusulis.' In Gmelin's edition, India and the Cape of Good Hope are the localities given to F. butyracea; but the Canary Is ands are still stated to be the habitat of F. Canaria. Habitat in Jusulis Canariis, alii-que maris Atlantici, in littore Africa orientali, per omuem Europam familiaris, longæva, egregiè cantaus,' &c. &c.

+ Professor Renute, in his edition of Montagu, thus writes on this part of the subject: The original stock is said to have been imported from the 1n, and discredited by Syme, for these reasons. The wild birds found in the Canary Isles, about the 14th century; a circumstance not mentioned by Be. Canary Isles, says he, bear less resemblance in song and plumage to the domestic canary than to the siskin of Germany, the veuturon of Italy, or the seria of Fauce The plumage of these is a mixture of yellow, green, and very little brown or grey; whilst the wild canary has a plumage of dingy greenish One of these birds, which I received from St. Michael's, sang very much like the linnet."

grey.

HYBRIDS.

1. Mules bred from a hen Canary and a Goldfinch -These partake of the parental colours on both sides. The finest are produced from yellow or white hen canaries. The most beautiful,' says Bechstein, that I have seen was greyish ash-colour in the middle of its crest, and silvery white on the rest of its head and nape; a broad orange border surrounded the beak, and the neck was adorned with a white collar; the back was a dusky grey with black streaks; the rump white, the under part of the body of a snowy whiteness; the under tail-coverts, the wings, and first quill-feathers white, but the others, as well as the coverts, black edged with yellow; the middle of the wing was also adorned with a beautiful golden-yellow spot; the white tail had a black spot on the sides, the white beak was tipped with black, the feet were white. The mother of this beautiful bird was white, with a greenish-grey crest.'

2. Mules bred from a hen Canary and a male Siskin.The young always resemble the siskin in shape. If the mother be green they will be like a hen siskin; if she be white or yellow, they will be lighter in colour than a siskin, without however any great difference.

3. Mules bred between a hen Canary and a Green bird, or a Citril-finch.-When the mother is neither white nor yellow the young do not differ much from the grey or green canary; but they are generally rather more slender, and their bills are also shorter and thicker.

4. Mules bred between a hen Canary and a Linnet.These, if the mother be white or yellow, will be speckled; if she be grey, they will resemble her generally, but their tails will be longer.

Most of these mules are fruitful, and there is no great difficulty in getting the parents to pair; but when the union is with species more remote, the difficulty increases in proportion.

The following unions have in a certain degree succeeded. 5. Mules between a hen Canary and a Bullfinch.-Bechstein states that an ardent bullfinch will sometimes yield to the allurements of a very ardent hen canary, and that he has himself witnessed it, observing, however, that the eggs seldom prove fruitful. But Dr. Jassy, of Frankfort, obcanaries sit on the eggs and bring up the young, a plan tained mules of a bullfinch and canary, by making other pursued in Bohemia. My bullfinch,' writes Dr. Jassy to Bechstein, is so attached to the female canary that he mourns all the time they are separated, and cannot bear any other bird.' In this union tufted or crested females

should not be chosen, because the top-knot would be very unbecoming on the large head of the mule.

6. Mules between a hen Canary and a Nightingale ?Bechstein possessed a nightingale which, having been for a long time shut up with a female canary, lived very sociably with her, singing as usual. He paired with her in Bechstein's presence, but the eggs were unproductive, and Bechstein expresses his intention to try the plan of giving the eggs to another sitter, if the same thing should happen again. Besides the birds above enumerated, chaffinches, yellowhammers, &c., have been tried, but with no good success. The author last above-quoted says that he never saw a male canary very fond of à female yellowhammer, nor a male of the latter kind of a female canary, though the plumage may be selected so as to offer a striking resemblance.

It will be observed, that in all the six instances recorded the canary is always the mother. The reason why breeders select the male of the other species when mules are desired, is because, though a female siskin, or goldfinch, &c., might not and probably would not object to the union, she could not easily be induced, if at all, to lay her eggs in an artificial nest, like a canary.

Before we conclude our notice of the hybrids, we must again refer to the alleged fruitfulness of some of the mules, such as those of serins, citril finches, and goldfinches, a very interesting subject to the physiologist, who has, in following out this point with the canary bird and her different mates, an opportunity of observing how far these hybrids have the power of continuing their mixed forms. The first eggs of these hybrids are said to be very small, and the young hatched from them very weak. The eggs of the next year are said to be larger, and the nestlings stronger and stouter.

For breeding, a male aged from two to five years is chosen by the experienced. If a young male be introduced among older females, the offspring will consist of more males than there are females. The signs of age are rough and blackish scales on the feet, and elongated strong claws. It is not common to meet with good males, and such are valuable. Many cocks are mopes, and seldom sing; and their indifference to their hens is repaid by a similar indifference to them on the part of the latter. Some are violent, beating and often killing their hens and nestlings; while others, from an excess of ardour, teaze their hens while they are sitting, or tear the nest and destroy the eggs, in their vexation at the incubation abstracting the attention of their mate these often produce at last so much excitement in the females, that the latter abandon their eggs.

Good hens are not less valuable and scarce. Some of the ardent ones lay, but will not sit; others, after hatching their nestlings, neglect to feed them, or beat them and pick out their feathers, so that the hapless young die wretchedly. To some, again, laying is so painful, that they are too much fatigued to sit, or suffer long intervals to elapse between the times of depositing each egg.

The

separation being shut; but as soon as the other has also
laid, the door may be left open: the male will then visit the
females alternately, and they will not trouble themselves
about each other; but, without these precautions, jealousy
would incline them to fight and destroy each other's eggs.
When it is intended to place a great many females, double
or treble the number of males, in a room or aviary, the latter
should always be first paired with a single female, which
will ever after remain the favourite; and it will only be
when she is about to sit that he will pair with the others;
and this is all the notice he will take of them, for afterwards
he will only notice their young. It is from these mothers
however that the most and the best birds are generally pro-
cured. If the floor of the room or aviary is well covered
with moss, little else need be added for making the nests,
otherwise they should be supplied with the hair of cows and
deer, hog's bristles, fine hay, lint, wool cut two or three
inches long, paper-shavings, and the like. That which is
coarsest serves for the outside, and the softest and finest for
the inside. If they have shrubs, traces of the natural in-
stinct of the canary are soon observed in the nests, which
they construct without the help of the turner or basket-
weaver; but they are of an inelegant form, and the outside
is not very carefully finished. The females alone, as is
usual among birds, are the builders, the males only choosing
the situation and bringing the materials. It is in the nest,
where the female is in continual motion, that the pairing
takes place; she invites the male by constant little chirp
ings, repeated more quickly the nearer she is to laying.
Seven or eight days are generally reckoned from the first
pairing to the laying of the first egg; the other eggs, whose
number varies, without exceeding six, are laid successively
every following day, and often at the same hour.
laying ended, pairing continues during the first days of
incubation. If the pairs agree, they must be left entirely to
themselves, without endeavouring to use art to help nature,
as many do. It is usual to take away the first egg and sub-
stitute an ivory one, which is repeated with the others to the
last, preserving them in the mean time in a box filled with
fine dry sand: they are afterwards restored all together to
the nest to be hatched. Upon this practice the translator
of Bechstein's interesting and useful work observes in terms
of censure, quoting Buffon in support of his opinion, because
the plan above recommended causes the mother a greater
loss of heat, and burdens her at once with five or six little
ones, which coming together disturb rather than please her;
whereas in seeing them hatched successively one after the
other, her pleasure is increased, and her strength and
courage are supported. Very intelligent bird-fanciers,'
adds Buffon, assure us, that by not removing the eggs from
the female, and leaving them to be hatched in succession,
they have always succeeded better than when they have
substituted ivory eggs. The hen canary will generally lay
three or four times in the year, from April to September,
and some will even continue to lay during their moult. The
eggs are of a delicate sea-green hue, spotted at one end
more or less with violet or maroon colour. About the eighth
day after the hen has begun to sit, the eggs may be exa-
mined by holding them between the flame of a candle and
the eye. Those which are good will by that time exhibit
tinue clear, or be already addled-these should be thrown
away. It may be doubted however whether the better course
be not to leave the hen quite undisturbed. The cock will
sometimes take his turn for some hours in the day; but the
hen seldom approves of this: as soon as she has taken her
hasty meal she flies back to the nest, and if the male, whose
capabilities as a hatcher she seems strongly to question, do
not retire, she pecks him till he does. On the thirteenth
day the young generally make their appearance. While
incubation is going on, the place where the birds are con-
fined should be kept quiet; for it is asserted that sudden
jarring noises, such as the violent slamming of a door, or the
discharge of a gun, will kill the young in the shell. We
have above seen that it is usual to give two females to one
male; and it is alleged that, if one of the former should
happen to die during incubation, the survivor immediately
takes charge of the eggs, to the care of which she so en-
tirely devotes herself, that she repels the caresses of her
mate, whose solace she was while the deceased was sitting.

In order to obtain bright and good plumage, those birds
whose colours are clear and whose spots are clean and well
defined should be placed together. A brownish-grey or
greenish bird paired with one of a lively yellow often pro-
duces young of a dim white, and of other admired colours.
Two crested birds should never be joined, for their offspring
are frequently hatched with part of the head bald, or other-well-developed blood-vessels, whereas the bad ones will con
wise deformed in plumage.

Bechstein gives the following directions for forwarding the breeding of canaries:-The best time for pairing canaries is the middle of April. Either one male, and one or two females, are placed in a large cage, or many of both sexes are united in a room or aviary, having the advantage of a south aspect. Nests made of turned wood, or osiers, are given them, as straw ones are too easily torn. It is a good plan to place in the room or aviary slips of pine, which being cut in February do not lose their leaves. If a little inclosure of wire-gauze can be fixed over the window, where the birds can enjoy the fresh air, nothing will more effectually contribute to render the young healthy and robust. Birds which are to be paired for the first time should be previously placed in the same cage for seven or eight days, in order to become acquainted and accustomed to live together. If two females are to be caged with one male, it is especially necessary that they should be together long enough to leave off quarrelling, and the pairing-cage should be divided into two equal parts, communicating by a sliding door. This being done, a lively male and one of the females should be placed in the first division; as soon as she has laid, the male should be moved into the other division, the door of

As soon as the young break the shell, two jars should be placed near the feeding-trough. In one of these there should be a quarter of a hard egg, yolk and white together, chopped very fine, with a bit of crumb of white bread or bis