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thought would be least likely to turn out good ones, and 

 introduce any young hybrid I might require to be 

 reared. But you know what a great Scot told us about 

 " The best laid schemes," etc., etc. 



Only in one case has this worked satisfactorily ; then, 

 the Bully's eggs w^ere due to chip the same day as one 

 of my muling hens, and I saw one of the young mules 

 was very promising, so I took out three I considered 

 would be variegated and put in two young Linnets — Bully 

 Hybrids; it worked splendidly and they are doing for 

 themselves now — a four-pointed mule and two hybrids, 

 all cocks, a nest not to be sneezed at surely. 



The other cases did not hit it off niceh- — I think the 

 young were hatched too quickly, before the Canaries 

 had sat long enough to get over their broodiness— any 

 WAX, they would not rear them, although they had 

 previously fed their young Canaries well. 



I am inclined to think the Bully hen has most to do 

 with the fertility of her eggs, as one Bully hen I have 

 had fertile eggs last 3'ear from a Goldfinch, and two 

 different Linnets. Now she is sitting on eggs which 

 will, if they are good, bring forth the, to some, impossible 

 " Canary and Bullfinch mule." She and the Canary are 

 the most promising pair imaginable, both share the 

 sitting, and hopes run high. The Canary is the father 

 of some ''Canary-Bullies" already, both last year and 

 the year previous. 



I find the young hybrids thrive better if some seeds 

 of the shepherd's purse are mixed with the egg food, 

 than if there is no change from rape and maw .seeds 

 being mixed therewith. 



I have secured a couple of very fine hybrids from 

 the " Greenfinch and Bullfinch " bred by Mr. Chappie, of 

 Stoke, from birds I gave him in the spring. These are 

 now six weeks old, and with luck should do a little 

 winning later on. One thing is very patent, I must, 

 another year, provide feeders if I am to rear hybrids 

 jiicelv. R. Browning. 



