CANARIES, HYBRIDS, AND BRITISH BIRDS 



difficult ti) obtain, aiul sonic tliink should 

 therefore stand bcl'orc the Clear ]5o(ly 

 Dark; and while f)n this oround the claims 

 of the Marked bird can be justly urj;ed. 

 yet we are satisfied that it is no more 

 difficult to breed an Evenly-marked Dark 

 Crest than a Clear Body Dark Crest, and 

 tiiis granted, then for ))eaiity, the pure, 

 unbroken colour in the body in contrast 

 witli the dark crest, seems to us to be more 

 marked than when the surface is broken 

 by the mosaic-work on the back, beautiful 

 as it is, and we give the palm to the Clear 

 Body. ^Ve should be the last, however, 

 on this account to disparage the Evenly- 

 marked bird, for we want to see both colouis 

 bred plentifull_y, for we can spare neither 

 of them. 



The Evenly-marked bird must have no 

 mark of any kind whatever on the head 

 or cheeks, eye-marks not being recognised 

 as " marks " among the Crests, as they are 

 apt to assinne the objectionable character 

 of cheek-marks. The entire crest, of course, 

 is dark, and shoidd stand out clearly 

 defined in bold relief against the golden 

 ground-colour of the body. There are rare 

 instances of niai'ked wings with the re- 

 mainder of body clear, and bona-fidc grey 

 or grizzle crest, in which ease the birds are 

 admitted in class (b) by virtue of their 

 wing-marks, the deficiency of colour in 

 the crest being weighed against their 

 winning points. Any marking on the back 

 of the neck, also, is very objectionable and 

 coimts against the bird according to its 

 extent. It is, however, a very coimnon 

 blemish and one \ery dillicnli fo get I'id 

 of, being usually present with Ci'csls 

 having no decided character at the back. 

 It forms no pai't of the crest, .-ind no 

 ai'gument can clc\ate it to the dignily of 

 a mark, or show that it is a desiiablc 

 adjunct, its chief use being to spoil the 

 ap])earanee of a synnnctrical crest or 

 deceive the eye as to the demerits of a 

 bad one. 



The colour of the crest depends a good 

 deal on the strain of blood in the bird, 

 and this also largely alTeets its shape and 

 general character. An admixture with a 



more o])en-fcathered variety will gixc a 

 darker or blacker green to the crest : in 

 hens so nuich so, that they can generally 

 be jjicked out from the cocks by this 

 difference in coloiu- and texture of feather 

 alone. Whatever the jiarticular shade of 

 the crest may be it should be bright and 

 glossy, not dull, and this is dependent on 

 the judicious use of Yellow blood. 



The rules for wing and tail marks are 

 the same as for Plainhcads, and while we 

 admit that it is quite illogical to attempt 

 to show that an mievenly-marked tail is 

 no blemish in an Evenly-marked class, yet 

 with the leading feature, the crest, exhibited 

 in ])erfection, and the most striking mark- 

 ing — viz. that on the wings also exact, and 

 the body spotless and free from the sus- 

 picion of the smallest tick, it has always 

 .seemed to lis such a pity to have to lu)ld 

 the bird up above the level of the eye, and 

 turn it this way and that w-ay in search of 

 feathers W'hicli, when jircsent, arc of so 

 trilling a value. 



That others think with us is evident from 

 the fact that to-day less attention is ])aiil 

 to tail marks in breeding Evcniy-mai-kcd 

 Crests than ever, the object now being to 

 jiroducc the even-marked wings and Dark 

 Crest with clear tail as well as the rest 

 of the body. 



Body-colour, as the family is at present 

 constituted, must be good, with feather 

 replete with the pregnant attribute of 

 "quality." The colour of the legs and 

 feet is practically of no \aluc : it inclines 

 to dark, but is ne\er \ciy decided or 

 unifonu. Any d(scii])(ion of the next 

 two classes, (c) and (d). is unnecessary, 

 bcvond sa\ing that, for reasons which we 

 will ])rcscntly adduce, ihcir mai'king and 

 \aiicgation are. under ordinary circum- 

 stances, of no value whatc\cr. We ])ass 

 on to class (c). (Jrey-crested, a most iui- 

 |)ortaiit class in the breeding-room, as will 

 be seen in its place, and a not less important 

 one in the show-room. A good grey crest 

 is very pretty, although it has no recognised 

 value from a colour ])()int of view, as it 

 matters not how grey or how grizzly it 

 mav be, and as a variety it is simi)ly a 



