106 THE ROLLER CANARY 
FAULTS IN DEGREE 
Now we will consider faults in degree, as we have 
considered them in kind. What is the degree of fault 
than can be forgiven, or when penalized, should not 
count against a bird winning? 
That is difficult to express by any rule of thumb. It 
depends solely on the construction of the bird’s song, 
the tone of the song throughout and the frequency with 
which the fault enters that song. It can be decided 
on the judging-table and there alone. 
It depends chiefly on the extent to which the fault 
jars on the ear. A bird that just touches sharp bell, and 
then immediately, almost before your ear has caught it, 
rolls away on to his deep song again, possesses a fault 
that, in a full-toned and deep bird, will often add 
piquancy to his song. The same with a not-too-hard 
aufzug, gone almost before it is there. In another bird 
exactly the same degree of fault, followed by his thin, 
light and toneless song, might jar terribly. 
The same with nasal. A rich-toned, full-sounding 
singer may touch nasal on some of his tours, and it will 
be not at all displeasing, whilst a weedy-toned bird, on 
the nasal, makes you want to catch a train. You can 
only tell what degree of discord there is when you hear 
the harmony running with it. It is the whole song 
combined that tells you what the fault is like, and that 
alone. 
Now, as to faults in a tutor. For two years I trained 
with a bird that had the very worst aufzug in England, 
and in some of his sons it came out nearly as bad, but 
in others there was no aufzug at all. I am bound to 
say that very few of your young will escape sharp bell 
