Miscellaneous. 203 



Beginners and amateurs must remember that " extraordinary 

 good birds " are not bred frequently; a really grand specimen 

 is a bird in 50,000 of its own variety, or somewhere about 

 that proportion; hence it cannot be expected that one man, 

 however successful, breeds many of these in a lifetime ; hundreds 

 and thousands of men never breed one at all, and probably 

 never will. A man is considered fortunate now-a-days who 

 can succeed in getting hold of them even by purchase so 

 many buyers are on the look out much less to breed many 

 of them. Purchasers had better, therefore, reflect before they 

 buy, as I can assure them that most of the best birds are 

 bred by men who rarely exhibit, but are tempted to part 

 with their choice specimens at long prices to speculative 

 exhibitors, who soon find out where a good bird is to be 

 obtained. 



The same remarks apply to exhibitors of hybrids, and other 

 varieties, but more particularly to the two classes of birds just 

 mentioned (the Crested Norwich and mules). 



The best men to purchase from are those who strive to 

 breed prize winners, whose great ambition it is to improve 

 the various breeds, who spare neither time nor expense in 

 doing so, and who never purchase birds to sell again, but only 

 dispose of their own surplus stocks. These are true fanciers, 

 and you are sure to get reliable birds from such men. 



Again, if an amateur purchases a prize winner, and he is 

 ignorant or inexperienced in the art of getting a bird up for 

 exhibition, he is sure to be disappointed. 



Some of these speculative fanciers cajole young beginners by 

 proffering to prepare their birds after purchase from them, 

 and they may do so for a time, but for how long ? Some- 

 times they offer to lend birds to exhibit at certain shows, 

 local shows generally, with the option of purchase ; these are 

 their second or third-rate birds, that in good company will 

 probably get H.C. or V.H.O. at most. By means of these 

 " dodges," young beginners are occasionally led on until they do 

 something rash, such as buying up a few high-class birds, at 

 very high-class prices ; after they purchase them they find 



