YOUNG THRUSHKS. 



Ffom a f^holt'giaph by Mr. J. lirif^hty, CUtphum. 



CHAPTER XVI 



PEDIGREE OR LINE BREEDING 



In all liio'hly-bred live-stock the chiel' ])()ints 

 which characterise a particular race or 

 strain are the result ol' repeated and con- 

 tinuous selection, year after year, of breed- 

 in,i>- stock possessiiiu' those particulai- (|uali- 

 ties in more or less j)crfeetion. This is 

 equally true of such ])urely " fancy "" ))oints 

 in oui' Canaries as shape, position, certain 

 kinds of markings the spanyle of a Li/.ai-d. 

 to wit -or a particular shade of colour, 

 such as eiiniauion. Such points may some- 

 times occur occasionally, as if hy accident. 

 in some individual ))ir(l. hut if it oeciu's 

 habituallw as one niai'k of a strain or 

 family, it has been bred into it l)\' man\ 

 generations of si'lectioii. 



Some peoi)lc thiids that this is not Ihc 

 case with wild birds or animals : but in 

 realit\' it is sometimes e\'en 



Natural 

 Selection. 



moi'c true in their case. I)ar- 

 wiii h;is tauuhf us t li,-it the 

 '■ natural selection " induced li\ suridund- 

 injis, food, struoole for bare e.xi.stcnee, and 

 competition ainonost surplus numbers is 

 most severe : it is unmodilied by pity or 

 caprice ; and Nature does not ^•ar\ her 

 methods .save in lontj |)cri<)ds and by imjier- 

 ceptible dea-rees. .She does not select like 



man, makino- one choice this year and 

 another the next, but her conditions are the 

 same for generations, and often for ages ; 

 hence the wonderful uniformity and per- 

 manence of her jiatterns. as in the ])hnnage 

 of a (ioldfinch or Bulllinch when uncrossed 

 l)y any foreign strain. It is in this sense 

 that the ])roverbial phrase of the breeder — 

 '' Like ])roduees like " — is true. They are 

 all of the .same ])attern as regards colour 

 and structural ])oints, though some may 

 be better developed specimens than others. 

 It is the ambition of every breeder to 

 produi'c the most |)eri'e<'tly develoiK'd 

 s|)ccimcns pdssibk'. and it is 



Breeding , , ,.ea,s(,nable to expect bv 

 to Points. ' 



far the greater number of will 



developed young from those; s])ecimens 

 which best display Ihc desired character- 

 istics. 



\\] r((|uiring size, for instance, we should 

 natur.illy expect to get it to greater per- 

 fection from a l)ir<l possessing size than 

 fiom one which had i)een bred from 

 good-sized ])arents l)ut had not devel- 

 oped that (|ua.lity. The same api)lics to 

 ciilciur. shape, position, feather, or any 

 other desired (inalitv. We have ai^aiu and 



19S 



