334 The Canary Book. 



and to improve the spangling it is advisable occasionally to 

 put two Silvers together, but this must not be overdone, or 

 the spangling will run together and give a hazy appearance, 

 and the ground colour will become too grey and pale. Put a 

 good, sound Golden cock, deep, rich, and mellow in colour, 

 to a superior light grey hen, or vice versa, and when you 

 obtain young birds pretty nearly perfect in cap, spangles, &c., 

 mate the most perfect of them together, brother and sister, or 

 uncle and niece, or even father and daughter, or son and 

 mother, as this will greatly aid you in establishing the proper 

 type, and preserving the most salient features. Then you 

 must have recourse to fresh blood, selecting birds similar in 

 type, &c., to those you have bred. Of course, where you 

 breed a lot for the purpose of exhibiting, you will have 

 several pairs in no way related to each other, so that you 

 will have no difficulty in following out the rule laid down, 

 for no man can expect to compete with success that only 

 breeds from two or three pairs. Continue to breed on the 

 same plan with regard to selection, and every third year 

 full cousins may be mated together to keep the blood pure. 

 If this method is followed up, discarding all faulty specimens, 

 in a few years you will be in possession of a strain of Lizards 

 that will breed prize birds with regularity and certainty. 



Do not put two birds together that are both dark in the 

 ground colours or you will lose in spangling, as it would 

 become short and indistinct. A Gold cock put to a hen bred 

 from Double Silvers, if both are carefully selected, will often 

 produce the best show birds. Splendid Silver birds are often 

 bred from a hen the produce of two Gold birds and a good 

 Silver cock. I do not care for Lizards being too black in 

 the legs and claws, as it is generally a sign that there is 

 too much green colour in the blood; it is also considered a 

 fault to have birds too pale or flesh coloured in the legs or 

 claws, although I have seen some grand Lizards with flesh- 

 coloured legs. I prefer a medium between the two. 



Where there is too much green in a strain, the colour and 

 feathers are harsh and unpleasant to the sight. Birds with 



