3 '2 CANARIES AND CAGE-BIRDS. 



HYBRIDS. 



The breeding of this class of birds has received as much attention as has been 

 given to any class known. Good Hybrids are splendid birds, and when finely bred, 

 for color markings, make probably the handsomest cage-bird bred in natural colors. 

 The great charm in Mule-breeding is the uncertainty which attends it : no fixed rule 

 can be followed for the production of the highly prized white Mules. The rules 

 regarding the selection of proper breeding material are numberless, but each 

 successful breeder of this class of birds religiously guards the secret of his successes ; 

 and the stock from which he has obtained his prizes can no more be bought than his 

 right arm. The scarcity of proper material for muling purposes is well known, and 

 white or clear Mules of any variety always repay the breeder in a manner which 

 justifies him in keeping the secret to himself. 



The most common class of Mules is the Canary-Goldfinch breed. The utmost 

 attention must be paid to the selection of the female where the light colors are 

 desired. The clear-yellow hen, which has descended for generations back from the 

 same clear color, is the most desirable for this class of Mule-breeding ; and we may 

 here note, that even ninety out of a hundred of these clear yellows will throw the 

 dark type of Mule. The proper female to mate for the purpose can only be found 

 after numberless trials in breeding, or by purchase from some fancier known to be 

 possessed of this class. 



If the common or dark class of Mules is desired, any good breeding- fern ale Canary 

 will do. After procuring the proper material on the female side, it is necessary to 

 obtain the proper Goldfinch. The Goldfinches vary as much as the female Canaries : 

 some breeders like the slender, snake-headed variety ; others seek points in the color, 

 and select the variety known as the Cheveral, or white-bellied class ; while tin- 

 majority look for the white-legged variety. The German Goldfinches are the best 

 to breed from ; for they are larger, stronger birds than the English, and throw a 

 much finer class of Mules. When used for breeding purposes, the Goldfinch should 

 be caged early in the fall, and domesticated as much as possible until May, the usual 

 time for breeding. It is well to rear a brood of Canaries from the female Canary 

 which is to be used, so as to accustom her to her duties. The rules for breeding 

 Canaries apply to Hybrid-breeding. 



The male Goldfinch mated with the female Canary is the proper pair for breeding- 

 Goldfinch Mules. When the female Goldfinch has been mated with the male Canary, 

 most unsatisfactory results follow. The colors in the Goldfinch Hybrids vary from 

 the pure white the color which every breeder tries to obtain to the very dark. 

 The values which the different classes have vary with the colors. 



Another handsome type of Mules is the Linnet-Canary. The same rule applies in 

 the selection of the female Canary, the pure yellow being preferred to the mealy. 

 The Linnet should be as clear colored as possible, and the larger he is the better 

 the class of Mules. Either the English or German brown Linnet is preferred. I 

 have seen Mules of this class without a single dark feather on an3 T part of the head 

 or body, yet so distinctly Linnet in shape and size that the origin could not be 

 mistaken. All Mules generally unmistakably show their origin by the shape of head. 



