1 02 The Canary Book. 



unless the hens are of the right sort you will never succeed 

 in producing lightly-marked mules simply by breeding from 

 goldfinches of the description I have named. And I am quite 

 sure that more than two-thirds of the most successful breeders 

 of these birds will bear me out in my assertion ; at the same 

 time, I know that both "Cheverell" and "Pea-throat" gold- 

 finches are much sought after and highly esteemed by some 

 of the oldest and most experienced mule breeders in this 

 country, and a much better price can be obtained for them 

 than for ordinary birds. Indeed, I have known as much as a 

 sovereign to have been paid for a good specimen of the first- 

 named kind. Many noted breeders assert that hens are more 

 likely to " throw " a good mule with a finch of this sort than 

 with one of the ordinary type, and this fact I am not at all 

 disposed to dispute. I have great regard for the opinions of 

 thoroughly practical men, and for this reason I am not 

 desirous of endeavouring to ignore what appears to be a 

 settled conviction in favour of these particular kinds of gold- 

 finches; at the same time, I consider it right to say that I 

 have seen several grand mules bred from goldfinches of the 

 common description, and this fact goes far to prove that the 

 theory I hold is well founded; and beside this, I can certify 

 that several breeders who are personally known to me have 

 tried the experiment with both varieties of the goldfinch above 

 mentioned, and hens chosen promiscuously, and have never 

 succeeded in breeding a pied mule of any value. This being 

 so, it must be evident to all that the first and principal 

 requirement, in order to insure success in this particular 

 branch of bird-breeding, is to procure a race of canary hens 

 upon which some reliance can be placed. I will, therefore 

 endeavour to instruct those who are desirous of pursuing this 

 interesting study in the most approved method of producing 

 a thoroughly reliable strain for this purpose. 



CAN ABIES FOB MULE-BREEDINGK In the first place, I, 

 recommend the purchase of a pair of London Fancy canaries, 

 as I believe that all birds of this particular variety are very 

 closely allied in blood relationship, much more so than is 



