THE ROLLER CANARY 53 
You must so regulate the shading that although you keep 
their song subdued you do not stop them singing 
altogether. Of course, they will not sing ceaselessly, but 
you will hear the choir practising more or less during 
the day. 
Now, these are not meant for hard and fast rules, but 
just merely as guiding principles; the idea is to give the 
birds as much light and exercise as you can, and to use 
every means, trick, or stratagem you can think of to keep 
them from singing in open school, especially during the 
first few weeks of their training. 
A daily rehearsal of ten minutes is good practice, and 
accustoms them to it; some breeders rehearse three times; 
methods differ; use your own judgment. You will need 
to study your birds, you will have them rehearse much 
longer at times, and this will do them no harm, especially 
in the cold weather, rather the reverse. 
PUPILS WITH FAULTS 
Keep a keen ear; remove any high-pitched offender; 
if a bird seems inclined that way, put him into 
a dark corner of your rack. If really bad, he must come 
away altogether, as the faulty tour will vitiate the song 
of all the others in a day or two; they pick it up in no 
time, as faulty tours, especially high bell and, in fact, all 
high notes are easier for them to imitate than the good 
deep ones. 
Sometimes a bird may not be satisfactory for other 
reasons; as time goes on his style of delivery may not suit, 
or he many sing a good tour, but repeat it too often, and 
so cause it to predominate in the others. That bird 
should be taken away; he may improve by isolation or 
