THE CRESTED CANARY 



287 



have been llie most successful, and in various 

 talks with olluT breeders I generally found that 

 lo be tlie case. I always found that in-breeding 

 was only useful when carried out on very 

 moderate lines, and to carry it on season after 

 season is what I term ' suicide.' There is no 

 doubt whatever that it is done, and that it is 

 possible for a certain period to do so ; but a 

 very great deal of the most careful selection 

 must take place, and it goes without saying 

 that not a few of the outcasts are the means 

 of disheartening not a few would-lie fanciers, 

 as it is assumed from wild bird life that it is a 

 ' survival of the fittest.' It is only when in- 

 breeding is resorted to as a means of stamping 

 the good points into our strain that it is made a 

 legitimate use of." 



Mr. G. Colledge, of Kilburii, near Derby, 

 an old and snccessfnl breeder and exhibitor 

 of the Crested Canary, saj's : 



" I have found the best method to give the 

 best results in breeding is not only to have 



good stock birds with the 

 Mr. G. Colledge necessary desirable points, 

 on Crests. but that they shall have 



good ancestral force behind 

 them, and be clothed with the right kind 

 of feather for tlie production of good Crests 

 and Crestbreds, broad, leafy feather, with a 

 nice dark midrib down it. This is well dis- 

 played in some of our crested hens. I also like 

 the Crestbred to have that beautiful silver-like 

 cord, or raw hemp yarn-like threads glistening 

 out from amongst the neck feathers. We 

 usually get this texture with a little Yellow 

 blood ; the contrast between this feather and 

 excessive double-buffed feather is marked. A 

 pair of such birds run together I have always 

 had good results from. I have also used the 

 Lancasliire crossed with my Crests, with a view 

 to getting more size and density of feather. I 

 paired a Buff Lancashire Coppy hen bred from 

 two Coppies to a large Green Crested cock. From 

 these I got three young, all Crests. One of them 

 took entirely to the Coppy in shape, the others 

 were just the birds I wanted in size and density 

 of feather. I kept one of them, a hen, and paired 

 her up to a good Crestbred cock bred from 

 Yellow and Buff — his ancestor had been bred 

 from double Crests for four successive genera- 

 tions. I only got two from this pair, one of 

 them a splendid Cresljjrcd shown successfully 

 by Mr. McLay. I also purchased a fust cross 

 Yellow Crestbred bred by Mr. Buckley, the 

 well-known Lancashire breeder, from a ticked 

 Buff Lancashire Coppy, and a Yellow Crestbred 

 hen. I paired this first-cross hen to the best 

 Crested cock I had. From those I bred a Yellow- 



Green Crested hen, which won the Cup at the 

 Derby Show. This hen 1 paired to a very large 

 Clear Buff Crestbred cock, from which I bred 

 several real good show and stock birds, and 

 these direct from Yellow blood. 



■' I also maintain that Yellow Itlood will 

 neither shorten nor weaken the density of Crests 

 or the feather on the head of Crestbreds if 

 coarse, leafy feathered birds be paired with them. 

 Some of the best birds I have ever bred or pos- 

 sessed have been bred direct from Yellow and 

 Buff, my noted Clear Body Dark Crest, which 

 I bred in 19(18, and which won for me the Crest 

 Canary Club's Ten Guinea Silver Challenge 

 Bowl for best Young Crest, was bred from a 

 Yellow Crested cock that had been bred from 

 Yellow and Butt" direct for four generations, 

 and a Bufi' Crestbred hen which was also bred 

 from Yellow blood. 



" When using Lancashire blood I always pair 

 back the first, second, and third crosses to 

 thick Norwich-typed birds possessing beautifully 

 concaved skulls, as these add to the shape and 

 droop of the Crest. 



" I have tried in-breeding, but I lost size and 

 stamina. Odd ones may become robust and well 

 worth breeding with ; Init give me ' Pedigree ' 

 and ' Judicious Selection.' The quickest way 

 to reach the ideal is to pair the very best birds 

 together with the least faults, and by careful 

 selection and pairing improve any slight fault 

 that may be in your stock each year ; also 

 occasionally double-crest a pair. The Crestbreds 

 from these I have found give me excellent 

 results." 



^Ir. John Tyson, of Chelsea, another 

 well-known breeder and exhibitor of the 

 variety, says : 



" :My experience extends over a period of 

 twenty years, during which time it has been 



my ambition to annually pro- 

 Mr. John duce exhibition specimens ; and 

 Tyson's for some years I have been 

 Experiences, fairly successful, although I 



have not reared by any 

 means the desired number. In Crests, how- 

 ever, we must be satisfied if we breed from 

 any one stud two or three really classic winners 

 yearly, and I know of no variety which requires 

 greater patience and determination to gain 

 success. I prefer the best possible exhibition 

 specimens to breed from, and have for years 

 past made a strong point of retaining quality 

 of feather, ignoring fine or hairy-like feathered 

 specimens, no matter how well bred. I would 

 rather breed with a good feathered Crestbred 

 cock if he had good length of head-feather al- 

 though with very pinched or narrow entrance to 



