Mule Breeding. 109 



CHOICE OF GOLDFINCHES FOB DARK MULE BREEDING. As 

 soon as the hens have been obtained from the different crosses 

 I have recommended, look out for a few choice goldfinches. 

 The birds I prefer for breeding purposes are what are known 

 among the initiated as " grey-pates " that is, young gold- 

 finches, the produce of the last breeding season. The best 

 time to purchase them is in the months of September and 

 October, before they have moulted their grey faces and donned 

 the plumage of matured birds, as you cannot then be deceived 

 as to their actual ages; but it will be necessary to exercisi 

 great care in their selection, or you will, in all probability, 

 get more females than males. Perhaps the best plan would be 

 to purchase a dozen from a flight of newly-caught birds, select 

 the male birds, and give the females their liberty ; for, although 

 instances have been known of female goldfinches breeding with 

 male canaries, they are rare and exceptional, and I cannot in 

 any way feel myself justified in advising anyone to try the 

 experiment. Goldfinch hens have a natural aversion to arti- 

 ficial nests, and very few of them can be reconciled to these 

 substitutes. By adopting the plan I have mentioned, you 

 ought to be able to buy them at a low figure, say, from 

 ten to twelve shillings per dozen, or even less ; much depends 

 upon the season, as some years they are more plentiful than 

 others. It is not an easy matter to distinguish the males 

 from the females, although the former, as a rule, are larger, 

 more masculine in appearance, and bolder; they usually have 

 longer beaks and larger heads, and the red stripe which 

 encircles the root of the beak is broader and brighter, as 

 is also the black on the top of the head, down the neck, 

 and on the shoulders; the white cheeks are cleaner, and the 

 breast and back are likewise purer and more vivid in colour. 

 The covering feather of the wing butts are blacker and 

 brighter in the male birds than in the females. 



The " Cheverell " goldfinches are known by a clear white 

 mark which passes clean through the centre of the red 

 stripe which surrounds the roots of the under mandible, and the 

 "Pea- throat" by having a round white spot, about the size 



