The Norwich Fancy. 307 



Cinnamon colour does not interfere with regular marking, as 

 may be proved from the fact that some of the best of the 

 evenly-marked Yorkshire birds of the day are Cinnamon- 

 marked. 



In a mixed class of variegated birds, an evenly-marked 

 bird has undoubtedly a greater chance of gaining a prize 

 than a patched-about bird, or even a ticked bird, as great 

 weight is always given to regularity of marking. On the 

 other hand, to preserve these features, in-breeding has to be 

 greatly resorted to, and this has a tendency to deteriorate 

 qualities, such as size, colour, feather, form, and robustness, 

 and these points can always be obtained in greater per- 

 fection in a ticked or irregular- marked bird. Judges officiat- 

 ing at shows where mixed classes prevail, have to use their 

 best endeavours to balance all the points enumerated in a 

 fair and impartial manner; and then in the absence of one 

 or two high class specimens of evenly-marked birds, there 

 is a greater chance of success for the exhibitors of ticked 

 and irregular-marked specimens than many exhibitors believe. 

 Still, I have no desire to allure the owners of these birds 

 into the belief that a chance of winning a prize with a 

 moderate specimen is not remote; on the contrary, I say that 

 it would be useless to expect to take a prize in such a class 

 as this with a ticked or unevenly-marked bird, unless it 

 excelled greatly in size, form, colour quality, and condition. 



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