134 



CANARIES, HYBRIDS, AND BRITISH BIRDS 



tubes in whicli the blood circulates, and 

 wliicli eventually develop into what we 

 call feathers, the wch of wliich is nothing 

 more than an expansicin and niinute 

 raniilication of the material of whieh the 

 whole is coni])osed. led to the su])p()siti(in 

 that tiie colouring matter must be maiui- 

 faetured in, and deposited by, the blood ; 

 and various tiieories were pro]ioimded 

 and methods devised for brinsfing about 

 tliis residt. The fact that certain food is 

 known to have the direct effect of colouring 

 the fat. and e\eii the bones of animals, 

 seemed to su])])ort tlie theory ; and the 

 notion of feeding tlie feather IVoin its 

 birth, and wiiile in embryo before its birth, 

 took a strong hold on the minds of breeders, 

 though the idea^ was but very iniperfectl\- 

 develo])ed. and. we should imagine, in 

 many cases worked out in a very clumsy 

 Nvay, and without any clear perception 

 of the principle involved. Anything 

 '■ yellow ■■ that the bird would eat was 

 supplied to it : no matter what it was, 

 or whether it was a substance the bird 

 could digest and assimilate : so long as 

 it was yellow, that was sullieient; and we 

 ha\'e heard of the most extraordinarv 

 compoimds li,-i\iug hecii .idmiuisti'rcd in 

 the shape of pills, powders, draughts, 

 anything and r\( rytliing, an\- way and 

 every way, no matter what or how, if 

 coloiu' might only be boi'u of it. 



Fi'om among this diversity of modes of 



feeding and widely \aried practice, liow- 



(■\cr, one truth was extracted. 



feedi^y. '""' '' '"■'■'I""' II" secret t h;it 

 cei-taiii food -.lould alTcet colour 

 \u a, sensible degree. \\;\v\\ breeder, witli 

 the most conunendabie sellislmess. kept 

 his particular nosti'um a profound secret. 

 I)ut the existence of the f;icl was demon- 

 s', rated oN'cr- and o\er again by fnnciers 

 buying high-coloured specimens, .-uid utterl\' 

 failing to moult them with ;in\tliing like 

 the same results. C'ci'tain towns with 

 their schools of breeders apparently li:id 

 the game in lluii- own hands, and the 

 secret, such as it was. was jcalousl\- oniipilcil 

 for years. The dilTcrencc between the 

 colour of a bird moulted on ordinary diet 



and one fed on ^.r/ra-ordinary diet in its 

 very earliest days was not so marked as now 

 or as it was thirty or thirty-five years ago, 

 simjily because tlie agents em|)Ioyed were 

 not so powerful in their action as those 

 now in use ; but it was suflicient to give 

 the feeder an advantage over the breeder 

 — an advantage he has ever held when 

 both have started in the race on the same 

 terms as regards the (piality of the 

 birds. 



From what we have said it will be 

 gathered lliat the verb '"to moult" is 

 both neuter and acti\'e, and that we use 

 it in the latter sense as signifying the 

 indiieet doing of something on the part 

 of the bieciler, rather than expressing an 

 action entirely conlined to the bird. It 

 includes in it the idea of feeding by rule ; 

 and we are quite })repared to be met at 

 the outset with the question : '• Is feeding, 

 tlien, the whole scei'ct of colour in the 

 colour section of the Canary family?"' 

 \Vc arc very much inclined to answer 

 that (picstion by another, and ask : ■• \\'hy 

 not ? "" And wi' might ask one or two 

 more (|uestions, such as : What /.vtlu' natural 



lour of the Van: 



t th 



colour oi rnc i anary : is not tlic assump- 

 tion of the fact that the colour in which it 

 usually appears is its natural or proper 

 colour I'athci' an arbitrary assumption? 

 If \arioiis (h'script ions of \ cgc-t alilc food, 

 all of which it nnglit tiiiil in a stall' of 

 natui'c. and wliicli it cats with .-ix idity. 

 alTcct its colour in ;is iuan\' degrees, who 

 shall say that any nwv shade of colour is 

 /lir colour, and tli;it .ill other sha<les arc 

 im|)ropel' and umiatur.il liee.ansc noxcl 

 and eompai'at i\'ely unusual ? Is not the 

 word "" unnatural "' wrongly ap|)lied ? l'"or 

 how can anything be unnatur.al \\liieii is 

 in direct accordance with Xatin'e ? it 

 ;iii\ d("scri|)t ion of food be lilei'alh un- 

 nalur.al. it is the inii/icidi food which i he 

 bii'd could not lind in a natural stale; 

 for Canai'ies do not gather h.ai'd-boiled 

 eggs amont;' the seeds ;md frmts of I he 

 earth, noi- do the\ tind port wine in the 

 brooks ami pools 1)\ the \va\side. ()ur 

 idea of unnatural food would he the mix- 

 ing up of some diet nauscatiu" to the bii'd 



