2/8 



CANARIES, HYBRIDS, AND BRITISH BIRDS 



just us we must elsewhere have markiiiy or 

 any otlier leadiiijr feature, we must I'ui'uisli 

 the elements at all hazards. Once obtained, 

 it then rests with the Ijreeder to restore 

 and maintain a. balance of other properties 

 by the cxereise of skill in his art. But 

 owing to laek of attention by breeders the 

 majority of our stoek now are sini])ly 

 Heavily Variegated birds. When breeders 

 succeeded in oljtaining the large modern 

 crests they should then liave paid more 

 attention to colour and marking ; and even 

 now it is not " too late to mend."' For many 

 years we have advocated a cross with 

 Yellow l)lood every third season, double- 

 buffing the two intermediate seasons. If 

 Yellow^ l)lood were used in this manner great 

 benefits woidd ensue, without any loss in 

 density of feather. fJrcediug from a BulT 

 bred from Yellow and BulT jt.iii-ed to a bird 

 bred fi'om Dotible BufTs has most beneficial 

 efTects. 



These elementary ])rinci])les of crcst- 

 In-ceding learnt, we must at the outset 

 caution the reader against su|)])osing that 

 he has nothing to do but to go to some 

 big show, open his purse-strings, and at 

 once commence to l)ree(l Crests of merit 

 equal, or anything like equal, to those he 

 has purchased, unless lie selects suitable 

 jKirtiuTs for them. This is the rock on 

 which so many come to grief, for they think 

 if they pair two first-])rize birtis togeth< r 

 success nuist follow, and are bitterly dis- 

 ;ipponited when it docs not. Tlic\- forget 

 thai possil)ly those two hr,sl-j)rizc bin's 

 were not absolutely perfect, and, (hough 

 well oil that way, may bolh possess llic 

 .same hiuHy tendency in one oi- more |)oints, 

 and to jiair them togclhcr beciiuse they 

 happen to will lirst |)i-iz(s is nol "" brcedinn-.'' 

 but happy-go-lucky mating, for each in 

 its partner should have a counterbMlanciim 

 tendency against ils |)arliciilar failiii!/. 

 Outward devel()|)meiil is Ihc guide in ;il| 

 careful breeders in pairing, and though 

 everyone who c;iii alTonl if wiscl\' pur- 

 chases the best stock he c.in, our ad\ice 

 would 1)C nol always In buy Ihc specimens 

 most perfect al all points, unless for 

 exhibition purposes, but rather to invest 



in such as show extreme dcvelo])ment of 

 the one ])oiut desirc-d in your stock or the 

 bird you want to pair it with, for when a 

 cultivated ideal reaches its zenith it must 

 be maintained, or it will assuredly decline. 



We have already alluded to the fact that 

 the modern Crest can hardly Ijc considered 

 as native to the Norwich variety unless the 

 okl Norwich " Turncrown " be accepted 

 as the original type, and also hinted that 

 in its jn'ogression to its ])resent stage of 

 ])erfection it owes much of its improvement 

 to the Lancashire Copjiy, a mine exten- 

 sively w'orked some twenty or twcnty-fi^"e 

 years ago, but not used so much now as 

 when the large crest was in its manufac- 

 turing stage, and also because of the 

 difriculty of procuring a suitable "" Cojypy," 

 or a Lancashire Plainhead, to cross with the 

 Crest, 



We need not describe the Coppy here 

 further than to say that it is a giant, and 

 stands very erect, is inclined to be coarse 

 in feather, carries very little colour, is 

 clear or only ticked, or the copp\- slightly 

 grizzled, and thus has many properties 

 with which we wish to have as little to 

 do with as possible in Crest-brccdiiig. 

 Yet crossing this bird occasionall\- with the 

 Crest, and judiciously lining its progeny 

 down by ])airing ])ack to Crests, has the 

 elTcct of producing a crest in size never 

 dreamt of, and marvellous heads and feather 

 oil the Crest brcds. Its use, however, must 

 not be abused, or its bcnelits are lost. 

 In selecting our Coppy when -a. cross is 

 necessary, let it be chosen for crest pro- 

 perties entirely: but if the bird sIkmvs 

 less roughness of feather, and less Ciijipy 

 points generally than arc ciilti\atc(l by 

 L;iiic;ishirc faiicici's, we shall li:i\c Ihc less 

 foreign matter to eliniiiiiitc. It is iin- 

 in:il(i-ial \vlielher the bird be cock or hen ; 

 bill the advantage of working from a cock 

 consists ill being able to run him with 

 several liens, and .so secure at once a greater 

 number of '" lirst crosses '" from \\hieh to 

 make selections for future o])erations in 

 ])edigrec-brccding. according to the prin- 

 ciples enunciated in previotis chapters. As 

 to whet her it be \'ello\\ or BulT. we should 



