210 



CANARIES, HYBRIDS, AND BRITISH BIRDS 



iin])r()\'iniv the iill-roiuid ]iro])erties of the 

 bird. The objectionable points alhuled to 

 have and are still being gradually over- 

 come, without sacrificing to any extent 

 the size gained, and this is of great im])ort- 

 ance, for in conjunction with the other 

 leading features of the bird, size helps much 

 to give a noble and conunanding appear- 

 ance. 



In these general remarks on conformation 

 we have been ol^ligcd to mix up the ques- 

 tion of feather to some extent. 

 Feather i,,,^ |^ ,,,,|^^ ,^.^^,p .^ j.^^.^ ^^ 



Qualities. ' 



itself, as formmg one of tlic 



most ini[)ortant features in tliis variety. 

 The texture of the material cannot be too 

 fine and silky, nor can the feathers be too 

 short and compact. Nothing can atone for 

 coarseness, for which there is no excuse in 

 the eyes of a Norwich breeder. AVc arc 

 s])caking now of the ])oints of a show or 

 ideal bird. AVe say " nothing." for even 

 colour cannot compensate for a marked 

 (leficienc\- in close, soft feathering. Not- 

 withstanding this, colour is the first thing 

 looked for by many breeders after type, 

 and is supposed to be the beginning and 

 the end of the bird. " all over, underneath, 

 in the middle, outside, overhead, on toj), 

 on .ill sides, and at both ends," it cannot 

 stand unsupported on the show-bench, but 

 must have shape and feather to sustain il . 

 No tru(" fancier of the vai'iety but wiiuld 

 a,ccc'))t ail average dis|)la,y of colour com- 

 bined with high (piality. in preference to 

 simply excess of colour wilhniit tiicm, or 

 with only a moderate share of them. ^Vhen 

 they are i)resentcd in this way. it is not 

 easy to an'i\c al a correct estimate of their 

 cond)!nc(l \ nines by I he appliealion of :i 

 numerical scale, because the sum of I he 

 three values is really increased by an inde- 

 lci-niin;ilr number i-eprcsenting the elTeel 

 of tile e()nd)inat ion. l''or instance, siip- 

 ])osing two birds to score 20 and .'}(> j)oints 

 rcspceti\'ely lllidcl' I he i)e:i(i of coloni'. :niil 

 20 and 10 res|)ect i\'ely for sh;ipc and 

 finality of feather: then the \aliie of liie 

 first would appear to be 20 + 20 U). 



and that of the second .•JO i 10 40 : but 

 in reality the value of the first would be 



Colour. 



K) + an indefinite number expressing the 

 value of the effect of such a balance of 

 ])ower, and that of the second 40 — a 

 discount for loss of effect occasioned by 

 such disparity in the proportions of the 

 combining parts, assuming, of course, the 

 relative stand and values of the properties 

 to be ecjual. 



We have left the propci'ty of colour to 

 the last, because the revised standards of 

 the ^-arious sj^ecialist clubs re- 

 presenting the Norwich have 

 placed it below type and quality ; but 

 though thus placed at the bottom of the 

 scale, we should be indeed sorry to see 

 colour neglected, because it is an important 

 characteristic of the breed, which rightly 

 heads the list of the colour family of 

 Canaries. 



Though colour, as we have shown, h;is 

 no right to over-ride all other properties, it 

 is noteworthy that the ])rineipal character- 

 istic of the Norwich is the ca])acity it has 

 t(j develop colour. A long-contimied a])pli- 

 eation of the ])rinci]iles of selection has 

 doubtless fixed this feature. The ultimate 

 colour of all "" clear "" t'anaries is what is 

 generally understood Ijy the word " yellow."' 

 But there are many shades of this colour, 

 and it ranges from jiale lemon to the dwp 

 hue of a Seville orange. AVell, tluii. the 

 Norwich l)ird is the Seville orange aiiiong 

 a, basket of lemons— the differcncr in enlour 

 is (piitc as decided: and if a. furtlur illus- 

 tration he necessary, we think we eonld 

 not in;i.kc a, iKippirr eiiinp;iris(in than 1)\' 

 reference to I he dilTercnee between the 

 rich chrome of the dark .African Alarigold 

 ;i,nd the p:ilc iemon-eoloiii'td llowrr of 

 liie same \;iri('ly. ^^'<' h;i\c cndeiixoiireil 

 to descrii)e its shapi' .'ind its fe,-ither. :uul 

 these two illustrations will serxc to gi\c a 

 general idea of its colour, which is meas- 

 iii'cd for depth and |)iirity. The idcii. how- 

 ever, is but general, and we will now go 

 inio (lelails. 



The entire Canary family is divided into 

 two colour-classes. A'cllow and HulT, which 

 are synonymous wil li I he Icrins .h)ii(|iie and 

 Mealy ; but inasmuch as tlu-se terms 

 do not express the real colour, they 



