144 CANARIES 



The Reign of the Belgian. 



From 1880 to 1890 the Belgian became more popular 

 in Scotland, and some progressive spirits realising the 

 fact that crossing the two breeds would give to the 

 Scots Fancy two very important properties — shoulder 

 and nerve — the two breeds were crossed. In a short 

 time the modem bird was generally accepted, and the 

 old-fashioned Glasgow Don was relegated to a back seat. 



In the last century the fanciers of England and Scot- 

 land were as the poles asunder. Whilst the former were 

 keen on colour and markings, the breeders of Scotland 

 troubled nothing about such things, but style and shape 

 were things they did value. These they had in their 

 own national bird, and they cared nothing for the colour 

 and markings of the Norwich, Lizards, Yorkshires, and 

 other breeds that the Enghsh breeders were so keen upon. 



The Origin of the Breed. 



The Scots Fancy is generally supposed to have origin- 

 ated in the West of Scotland some eighty years ago, but 

 there is no reliable record as to how or when it was first 

 produced, but so far back as 1830 it was spoken of as 

 the Glasgow Don. In those days the birds were small 

 semi-circular specimens, much shorter than the birds 

 of more recent times, had little shoulder, and were much 

 shorter in length of side and tail. Shape, style, and action 

 were the qualities valued then, even as they are to-day. 

 Markings and colour have never been given any promin- 

 ence by the canary breeders of Scotland so far as the 

 national bird is concerned. The nomenclature and classi- 

 fication, too, has been couched in totally different terms 

 to those prevailing in the south. In England we have 

 talked of even-marked, uneven-marked, variegated, and 

 ticked birds. In Scotland it has been pied, or foul, and 

 flecked. 



Not Favoured in England. 



It is a most strange thing that, although the Norwich, 

 Crested Norwich, aud Yorkshire have become popular in 

 Scotland, the Scots Fancy has never fascinated English 

 breeders. In Northumberland and Durham it has 



