i62 CANARIES 



this, in fact, being one of the surest and quickest ways of 

 breeding heavily variegated birds I know of. The hens 

 from this cross, though what may be termed half-bred, 

 will, when paired with a pink-eyed cock, fail to produce 

 any pink-eyed cocks ; the pink-eyed birds will be hens. 

 This mating has been the cause of many disappointments to 

 breeders, who were just commencing to cultivate this 

 variety, as they could only get Cinnamon-marked hens. 

 Cinnamon-marked cocks being very rare. But when they 

 are impressed with the fact that the pink-eyed bird 

 should be the cock, and that to breed an equal number of 

 both sexes of this variety they must have Cinnamon 

 blood on both sides, at least 75 per cent, on the male 

 side, also a pink-eyed hen for his mate, they reahse the 

 absolute correctness of the rule. 



The Cinnamon Blood from the Male. 



To be absolutely more certain of the rule working 

 correctly, both birds must be pink-eyed. When this 

 is not possible and you are anxious to improve the York- 

 shire breed characteristics of your stock, and must 

 do so by using a dark-eyed bird, let the bird be the hen, 

 and work the Cinnamon blood in from the cock's side. 

 Never forget that to introduce the Cinnamon blood into 

 a strain of any variety of canary in which it does not 

 exist, with the object of producing either Self -Cinnamons, 

 Cinnamon-marked, or clear pink-eyed birds in a direct line 

 it must be done from the male side. Starting from the 

 raw material, and working on the lines I have laid down, 

 you have full control, and can keep that control up to a 

 certain point as long as you only introduce Green blood 

 from the hen side. But once you get the Green blood into 

 the birds from the male side, and well mixed up among 

 your stud of Cinnamon-marks, away goes your control, 

 and you cannot be at all confident whether a nest of 

 youngsters will be Green or Cinnamon-marked. I have 

 known Cinnamon-marked cocks that threw a few dark- 

 eyed birds, even when mated with pink-eyed hens. 

 The only solution of the problem being that in their veins 

 there must have been a strong influence of Green blood. 

 This is one of those things in connection with breeding 



