29 2 The Canary Book. 



marked or pied birds, .you must dispose of at the first opportunity. 

 If you breed a bird with heavy wing markings, but slightly 

 marked about the eyes, mate it with a bird that is clear in the 

 body, with eye-markings only. If you have a bird with heavy 

 eye-markings and lightly marked wings, pair such a bird with 

 one that is marked in the wings only, and so on. With these 

 instructions you only require experience to enable you to breed 

 evenly-marked birds with undoubted success. Birds bred in 

 this way for four or five years are very likely to produce evenly- 

 marked mules ; choose the clear or very lightly-marked 'birds for 

 this purpose. 



It will be necessary to pair two buff-marked birds together 

 sometimes, or a buff-marked bird and a clear buff bird from an 

 evenly-marked strain, as this tends not only to improve the size 

 of the bird, but it increases the quantity of feathers, although, 

 as a rule, you should breed from a jonque and mealy (yellow and 

 buff). 



If you desire to breed Crested Norwich canaries (old type) 

 for exhibition, you must first procure a few good crested birds, 

 either males or females. I prefer the f ormer, as I find that the 

 progeny more frequently favour the male parent than otherwise. 

 They must in all cases be good specimens, or of undoubted high 

 breeding, and you will find it advisable to claim a few prize 

 winners at some of our "best shows the Crystal Palace at 

 Sydenham is probably the best for this purpose. It is held usually 

 in the month of February, which is, or ought to be, the end of the 

 legitimate show season, and hence exhibitors are disposed to put 

 a selling price upon them if they wish to part with them. If you 

 cannot attend the show yourself, the Secretary whom I have 

 always found exceedingly obliging at all times will claim for 

 you such birds as you require, if you send him a P.O.O. in 

 advance and instructions what to do. To an evenly-marked and 

 crested cock you should put a clear, or very lightly-marked 

 plain-headed hen, bred from a crested strain. You should 

 purchase your hens from some respectable, well-known fancier, 

 who has made his mark as a breeder of crested birds, to begin 

 with ; afterwards keep hens bred by yourself. If the cock 

 or hen is a clear bird with a dark crest, then it ought to be 



