310 



CANARIES, HYBRIDS, AND BRITISH BIRDS 



iij) lo tlif rciiuired staiulanl. it will |ii()l);il)ly 

 ever remain more oF a raiicicrs bird than 

 an every-day i)rodiiction, and always live 

 in somewhat select circles; l)ul that its 

 adniirei's should he fio lew and its oi-hit 

 so eirciimserihed can arise I'roni uothiiij;' 

 but a misapprehension as to its general 

 character. 



Then tliere is an idea tliat it is dcHcate. 

 We say idea, because it is tm idea, a mere 

 supposition not endorsed by those who 

 breed the bird, and therefore worthless as 

 an opinion when expressed by those who 

 do not. That the bird has been a good 

 deal in-bi-ed. and has, pn)l)al)ly. to some 

 extent deteriorated in consecjuence, it 

 would be idle to deny, but liearty co- 

 operation on tlic ]iai't ol' some of the 

 )irinci])al breeders could yet do wonders in 

 regard to saving the variety from extinc- 

 tion. Freer breeders and more attentive 

 parents to their young could not well be 

 had, and though London Fancies only 

 retain their show plumage during their 

 first year they are just as good for breeding 

 with after the show phimage lias gone, 

 foi- their jiower of re])ro(hicing young with 

 dark wings and tail remains intact. 



In the very early days of the bird 

 '■ ticking "" over the liglit feathers of the back 

 was jjcrmissible, and in fact e(jnmion, as 

 already noted, and ]\Ir. J?rodiick also refers 

 to this ; })nt as time went on this " ticking "' 

 lost lavour amongst breeders, and the 

 eradication ol' these ticks was thought 

 desirable and cardidly l)red out. 



In endeavouring to ])i-c<(l up to the 



modern standard, the elear-hodied biiil 



must he regal'ded as tlu' 



Breeding. , , i i i , , 



peileeted (le\(l()])nient . and 



the ticked or spangled body as the 

 raw maleiial. 'i'o breed the Tormer Iroin 

 the lattei' would not be a task ol' ver\ 

 great dillieidty il' imlliiii<i else were de- 

 mandi'd. especially as the ticked bird is 

 already a long way on its journey to the 

 clear, and we should have nothing else to 

 advise, as a means to this end. than in- 

 sisting on a pci'sistent sek'clion ol' the 

 clearest s|K'cimcns with good dark wings 

 anil tail. The consecpu'ncc ol' this i-e|)eated 



clear selection, howexcr. would be that tiie 

 gradual a])proaeh to a eleai- IkkK would be 

 accomjianied by gradual loss ol' colour. 

 And not only this, but inasmuch as biilliard 

 black wings and tail mean i-ieh l)ody-e<>lour, 

 a decline in the latter would mean a falling 

 olf in the other most important features. 

 A strain of high-coloured elear-bodied birds 

 might be maintained with a fair degree of 

 excellence for some time by mating the 

 highest-coloured sjiecimens, but the most 

 careful management would not result in 

 much increase of colour, it indeed anything 

 more were effected than sim]ily maintaining 

 it for a while. AVe mean maintaining it 

 in that rich form which supervenes upon 

 the departure of the last trace of dark 

 feather, for we do not mean to convey the 

 idea that colour in a carefully bred, slowly 

 but surely bvult up strain would, il' unsu))- 

 portcd. at once fade away ; but reuKinbcr 

 that the tendency has been encouraged 

 and is progressive ; at each stc]) colour 

 has been suj)ported, and if no longer 

 sujtportcd must slide. 



This is amjily borne out by the ex- 

 ])ericnce of ^Mr. A. (J. I'ilby. of Ealing 

 Conmion, whose limited stock, becoming 

 impaired in colour, has resulted in his breed- 

 ing nothing but Bulfs for scxcral years. 

 In some of these the dark llights and tail 

 have become practically a dark grey, 

 owing to the deterioration ol' colour not 

 having bc<'n checked when it llrst set in. 



Apro])os ol' this rcN'crsion Mr. Hrodrick 

 said with nuu-h |)oiid : "There is a to|) to 

 the lad(k'r. and those neai' the top are 

 inclined to gi\'e nou progeux' not (|uite so 

 high u|). 1 would rather bi'ccd with a full 

 biotlier ol' a liist -pri/.c l)ird. even if not 

 i|iiite pei'I'eet. provided only he was not 

 ' hiul," than with the i))'i/.e bird himscll." 

 ( )r. in othei' words, pii/.c birds when they 

 reach the stage when deterioration is likely 

 to set in nuist be paired to good stock 

 birds, partieul.-irly strong in the points 

 likeK ti) be hist. Such stock birds are 

 in\ .ilu.able adjuncts to the breeding-room 

 in eonjunetion with the show bird. 



The position, then, is this: a clear 

 bo(h' has to t)e o/4ainctl, and at tlu- same 



