Hello dear MMDer's,  One of the oldest and main teaching book for
bird trainers was "Le Nouveau traité des Serins de Canaries" [A New
Treatise on the Canaries from the Canary Islands], by M. Hervieux de
Chanteloup, published in 1729 (in Old French).  The book explained
how to feed them and train them to sing, and how to take care of
them against sickness.

As in Asia today, it was joyful for ladies to teach birds to sing,
with or without different varieties of bird organs called

 - "serinette" for small birds of the Canary Islands
   (one rank of 10 tin open pipes);

- "merline" for blackbirds
   (2 ranks of 10 flutes, one open and one stopped),  and

- "perroquette" for parrots (3 ranks).

Manufacturing continued across centuries from the middle of the
17th until World War 1.  Notice that it advised teachers to blind
the birds to concentrate their attention to songs.  Fortunately,
a cover on the cage was probably sufficient.

Philippe Crasse - Cabinet d'Expertises Automates & Musique Mécanique
Toulouse, France
http://www.expertises.pro/ 

 [ Hervieux_serins_Le-Ludion.jpg  (468 kb)
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