CHAPTER XXVITT 



THE YORKSHIRE CANARY 



The Yorkshire of to-day is not precisely We now give a detailed description of a 



the same bird as the Yorkshire of fifty typical Yorkshire : 



years ago ; but while other varieties have 



been bred, some locally, and others over a 

 ^vider area, there has always been a bird 

 of eminently distinctive character — a long, 

 slim, straight, erect Canary, identified with 

 Yorkshire fanciers to such an extent as to 

 be known by the name of the county. 

 Regarded thus, the Yorkshire has as much 

 right to be considered a pure breed as any 

 other, and no doubt the original strain of 

 birds of which we still hear old fanciers 



Description. ^''^^P^ '« "^ essence! The 



lii'iul should be round, of 

 inc<liuni size, and narrow in the skull. The 

 neck, moderately long and straight, and l)e- 

 tween it and the shoulders there must be no 

 indentation or l)reak of any kind beyond the 

 natural suljtle curves of the leading lines. 

 From these beautifully rounded, well-lilled-in 

 narrow shoulders depend long, tapei' wings, 

 the long llighls lueked in closely and slowed 

 away, lip to 111), at the end of a long, narrow 

 bark, without any sus|>icion of a s])oid. A 



speak was as free from alien admixture as well-lilled in back is a natural eons((pi( nee of 



any other variety of the Canary. Yet. 

 looking at the Yorkshire of to-day, wc find 

 evidence of not one cross but mauv ratlier 

 tiian (if a candiilly workcd-oul modilication 

 or a(la|)fati()ii of one ]iarticuiar form. It 

 is, iiowcvcr, in a (|ualilied sense that wc 

 use the expression " mixed breed," and do 

 not mean to im|)Iy that the Yorkshire 

 Canary can be com|)oun(lc(l out of raw 

 matei'ial in a \'eai'. KatJici- will ii be rouiu 



tiiat those who have turned out the best 

 specimens are men who carcrujly selected 

 their material, building, shoring and |)ro])- 

 ])ing u]) the edifice, leaving nothing wanting 

 and no one ])oint exaggerated. 



This bird piobably owes its origin to 

 the fact that in both Lancashire and 

 Yorkshire there have long been two varieties 

 of Canaries of the erect school. Crested and 

 I'iainlicad. in sonic respects rescnil)ling 

 each other, and in others ■.-cry dissimilar • 



le\el shoidders, and any hollow or spoul indii-ales 

 faulty eonslruetion in llu" shoulder. (Lonlinuing 

 the line of the back, the tail musl be long, per- 

 fectly straighl. narr'ow. Hal. and shul up so 

 ( losely as only I o show I lir iiuic edge of I he ouler 

 tealhers. from Ihe back ot the head to the (i|) 

 of the lail should preseiU. praelieally, a sli-aight 

 line, which is llie line (il lieauls ill a ^■orkshire. 

 The breasl niiisl be narrow and jierb'ctly 

 I'oiiiid. wliiili. taken in cimiumi imi willi Ihe 

 narrow shoulders, lueans small girth, anolher 

 ' important point. Broad shoulders mean broad 



iKuk and large girth, which delraci from the 

 appaieul length of the bird by Ihrowing il out 

 of drawing. .\ bulky ^■ol■kshire usually has 

 near relalicms somewlu'ic in Lancashire. l-'rom 

 the lircasi dowiiwai'ds Iju' bird niiisl lapcraway 

 gracUially lill il ends in a fine waisi, where Ihere 

 musl be no loose or llulTy feather, n«'ither nnisl 

 there be on llic breasl an\ trace of a frill, the 

 eulire featlier I lucuigliout being of the closest 

 and most coiiipaci description iiossitile. in which 

 respect we think no Canary can compare with 

 a tirst-elass Yorkshiie. of which " feather like 

 wax ■' is no inapt expression. The legs rniisl be 



and while one set of breeders adoplcd the siraighl and long without being stilly, and should 

 ! willi c(pial care billowed su|>i>ort tlic tiird in an altitude as nearly creel 



one lorm, a second wdli c(pial care 



uj) the other channel ; in the one case the 



majestic Lancashire Copjjy and Plainhead 



])roiHr resulted, and in the other the refined 



Yorkshire. 



as possible, and I he I tiigl IS well clothed with short, 

 close featlier. 



Altitude is one of Ihe vital points, and a bird 

 with Ihe slightest disposition to stand across the 

 lierch is of lit tie use in a show cage. Size also 



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