a year; and in a state of nature it is said to breed
still oftener. The work of building the nest, and of incubation, falls
chiefly on the female, while the duty of feeding the young rests mainly
with the cock bird. The natural song of the canary is loud and clear;
and in their native groves the males, especially during the pairing
season, pour forth their song with such ardour as sometimes to burst the
delicate vessels of the throat. The males appear to compete with each
other in the brilliancy of their melody, in order to attract the
females, which, according to the German naturalist Johann Matthaus
Bechstein (1757-1822) always select the best singers for their mates.
The canary readily imitates the notes of other birds, and in Germany and
especially Tirol, where the breeding of canaries gives employment to a
large number of people, they are usually placed for this purpose beside
the nightingale. (A. N.)

CANARY ISLANDS (_Canarias_), a Spanish archipelago in the Atlantic
Ocean; about 60 m. W. of the African coast, between 27 deg. 40' and 29
deg. 30' N., and between 13 deg. 20' and 18 deg. 10' W. Pop. (1900)
358,564; area 2807 sq. m. The Canary Islands resemble a roughly-drawn
semicircle, with its convex side facing south-wards, and with the island
of Hierro detached on the south-west. More precisely, they may be
considered as two groups, one of which, including Teneriffe, Grand
Canary, Palma, Hierro and Gomera, consists of mountain peaks, isolated
and rising directly from an ocean of great depth; while the other,
comprising Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and six uninhabited islets, is based
on a single submarine plateau, of far less depth. Teneriffe and Gomera,
the only members of the principal group which have a common base, may be
regarded as the twin peaks of one great volcanic mass. Ever since the
researches of Leopold von Buch the Canary Islands have been classical
ground to the student of volcanic action. Buch considered them to be
representative of his "craters of elevation." In common with the other
West African islands they are of volcanic origin. The lavas consist
chiefly of trachytes and basalts.

[Illustration: CANARY ISLANDS MAP]

_Climate_.--From April to October a north or north-east wind blows upon
the islands, beginning about 10 A.M. and continuing until 5 or 6 P.M. In
summer this wind produces a dense stratum of sea-cloud (_cumuloni_), 500
ft. thick, whose lower surface is about 2500 ft. above