312 The Canary Book. 



nothing about birds ; nevertheless, he will do everything in 

 his power to carry out your wishes." This man was the late 

 William Anthony Blakston, and he proved a very useful 

 adjunct, and this was the means by which he was brought 

 into the "fancy." He was an astute and intelligent man, 

 and one that could readily pick the brains of most men, but 

 as a practical breeder his experience was very limited ; 

 his knowledge was gained from other men, such as Rutter, 

 Clarke, Wilkinson, and others. I do not say this in dis- 

 paragement of Mr. Blakston, whom I have always considered as 

 a shrewd, clever, and ingenious man, and a fluent writer, and as 

 such I have always admired him, but I believe that many 

 people who did not know him intimately run away with the 

 idea that he gained his knowledge from practical breeding 

 and observation, which was not the case. He could truly 

 have said with Wotton, " I am but a gatherer and dispenser 

 of other men's stuff." 



The interest taken in birds now, as compared with the bird 

 fancy thirty years ago, may be taken from the fact that 

 Messrs. Mackley, of Norwich, alone dispose of something 

 like 20,000 birds in a year, whereas thirty years ago the 

 sale out of Norwich would probably not reach 1000, spread 

 over the whole of the breeders in that city, whilst I should 

 think that more than 40.000 birds were sold in Norwich 

 during the year 1890. 



The bird selected as a model for the modern type is thick- 

 set, or very stout in body, a deep broad chest, broad back, 

 substantial shoulders, a neat round head, plenty of feather, 

 close-fitting wings, and a moderately long tail a tail in every 

 way proportionate to the size of the bird, and the lighter and 

 more compact it is the better a broad spreading tail is an 

 eye-sore. The bird should stand semi-erect, and well over the 

 perch, and there should be no loose feathers about the breast, 

 thighs, or vent, and no appearance of eyebrows. The entb* 

 covering of the bird should be tight-fitting, the colour rich? 

 level, deep in tone, bright in hue, well fringed with meal, and 

 soft and silk-like in texture, which denotes high quality. It 



