146 CANARIES 



always had a fair following, but this I take it is due to the 

 fact that on Tyneside and Wearside are to be found 

 many fanciers, chiefly among those working in the ship- 

 yards, who have migrated south from the Clyde. In 

 Ireland, also, Belfast has long been noted for its Scots 

 Fancies, but there again the breeders were Scots, or of 

 Scottish parentage. About thirty years ago it looked 

 as though the breed would secure a footing in England. 

 Several enterprising Scots guaranteed classes at the 

 Crystal Palace and other shows, and for a few years 

 the bird of Scotland had quite a good following. It was 

 but a spurt however. It soon died out, and now one 

 seldom sees a Scots Fancy at a show held south of the 

 Wear. Why this should be it is hard to say. We live 

 in a more utilitarian age than did our fathers. The 

 sporting element is not so strong in the fancy as it used 

 to be, and as there is no market for the wasters of such 

 breeds as Scots and Belgians they have no following. 

 The fancy has become commercialised, and £ s. d. rules 

 the roost. In Scotland it is the national bird, and pat- 

 riotic sentiment ensures for it a strong following, even 

 though the Norwich, Crests, Borders, and Yorkshires 

 have made such inroads upon its fastnesses. 



Rise in Value. 



Although it is not in these days the one bird beloved 

 of the canary breeders of Scotland, it is valued far higher 

 than ever it was in the days when it was known as the 

 Glasgow Don, From forty to thirty years ago £5 was a 

 big price for a show bird, and I have seen a number of 

 birds that could win change hands at half that price, 

 whilst thirty or forty shillings would purchase really 

 first-class stock birds. In more recent times many birds 

 have changed hands at prices ranging from £20 up to £50 

 each. 



The Birds of To-Day. 



In size, length, shape, and position, the birds of to-day 

 are vastly different to the old-fashioned Glasgow Don, or 

 " bird o' circle." In fact, many birds are so full of Belgian 

 blood that given a Belgian cage and a single perch they 



