THE CINNAMON CANARY 



263 



cliaraett'i- of a priipcity ol' this \ariety, 

 which, heyoiul any doubt, will be developed 

 to an extent hitherto not dreamt of when 

 the breeding of Marked Cinnamons of the 

 Norwich type, persistent!}^ followed u}), will 

 throw the Green-marked birds so produced 

 into the Norwich classes, just as the Grcen- 

 viarked Cinnamon-hred birds of the York- 

 shire type are thrown into the Yorkshire 

 classes — many of the best Evenly-marked 

 examples of which are greatly indebted to 

 Cinnamon blood for the accurate pencilling 

 of their beautiful eye-stripes. 



We have said that the i)ink-eyed Clear- 

 bodied birds also are Cinnamon in their 



finictions. \Vc knew a 

 Some Curious ^^g.^j^^. ^^,j^^ ^^,,^^ j,^ ^^^^ j^ ,^1^ 

 C.xperiences. 



of making rather extensive 



purchases of Norwich birds from an exhi- 

 bitor in the South, who, at that time, had 

 also one of the best strains of Cinnamons 

 in exhibition. Our friend, the dealer, not 

 having disposed of all his stock, put uj) his 

 suri)lus pairs in the spring, mating a Clear 

 Yellow Norivicli (?) cock with a UuiT hen 

 of the same variety. The result was, that 

 in every nest there were some fine Cinna- 

 mons ; and an inspection showed the 

 Norivich cock to be pink-eijcd. 



We had a similar experience in our early 

 days of Norwich breeding, though the birds 

 we were breeding with liad neitlier pink 

 eyes nor a cinnamon feather, jet we pro- 

 duced Cinnamons in every nest from two 

 pairs. Inquiry elicited the fact tliat the 

 liirds we were breeding witli had all been 

 crossed with the Cinnamon, which fact 

 dispelled the mystery. 



The principle involved in breeding colour- 

 Cinnamons is easy of deduction from what 

 we have advanced, and is 



The Breeding analogous to that on which 

 rrinciple. '^ 



the production of Clear 



Norwich Canaries is based, in so far as it 

 consists in im])roving colour by the infusion 

 of a foreign clement, every trace of which 

 ultimately requires to be eliminated, leav- 

 ing only its active agency behind. In the 

 Norwich, we operate on the Clear j)lnniage 

 by infusing the strong Green ; and in the 

 Cinnamon, we work in the same way by 



adding the Clear element in \ari(ius stages 

 of its development, and striving in each 

 case to maintain the ])lumage o}ierated on 

 intact, and changed only in regard to the 

 brilliancy and depth of its colour. The 

 two processes may appear to be the reverse 

 of each other in their practical operation, 

 but they are nearly identical in principle. 

 To breed whole-coloured Cinnamons, pair 

 the purest and richest-coloured Selfs 

 together. Yellow to Bufl'. The improved 

 bird is hiW to the brim and running over 

 with colour-blood, as the constant recur- 

 rence of light ticks and pied forms attests. 

 We mention this plan first for the 

 encouragement of those who, altogether 

 inexperienced in Canary-breeding, may see 

 difficulties in om- exhaustive details which, 

 possibly, may debar them from commenc- 

 ing with a variety requiring so nuich 

 building up and maintaining in a high 

 degree of excellence. All varieties require 

 this building np : in it consists the art of 

 breeding ; but we think this string can 

 sustain its present tension long enough 

 for the amateur to acquire some ])roficieney 

 before it will require timing afresh. In 

 pairing Yellow cocks with Buff hens, select, 

 if possible, male birds having some size : 

 such are not always procvirable, as the 

 tendency of the richest-coloured Jonques 

 is to rim small. We only mention this as 

 a disposition it is desirable to keep in 

 check, but do not advise sacrificing any 

 material point in doing so, but by selecting 

 birds of good size, at the same time not 

 neglecting quality of feather and colour, 

 the three essentials of the bird are retained. 

 The head of a Cinnamon, too, is of the 

 utmost importance. A fine large head on 

 a good body, covered with the 

 richest of pure colour, is the 

 ambition of every Cinnamon breeder, and 

 this is why dips have had to be taken into 

 the Norwich, and even the Crestbred and 

 Lancashire, to get these various properties, 

 but the best results have been obtained 

 from the Norwich Cross. It should be 

 remembered that the true Norwich is a 

 bird of fair size, and also that the Jonque 

 Cinnamon cock need not be allowed to 



Mating. 



