174 CANARIES 



Norwich had had much to do with the evolution of the 

 Lancashire, as both these birds were at that time, and 

 always have been, much smaller than the Lancashire 

 I could never see any reason for his deduction. 



A Bird Royal. 



The Lancashire is indeed what it has been described. — 

 " Majestic in appearance, and carrying with it the con- 

 sciousness that it is of the royal family of the canary 

 tribe." The ord " Coppy " used in connection with it 

 is a tribute as to its age, as " Coppy " is the old English 

 term for crest, and was originally used in connection 

 with the tuft of feathers on its head, because years ago 

 its head-gear was nothing more than a mere tuft. 



At one time an attempt was made to change its name 

 to that of the " Manchester Coppy," because at the time 

 its breeders in the Manchester district were a pretty 

 strong force. This called forth a wave of indignation 

 from the breeders of Oldham, Rochdale, Ashton, and 

 other towns in the Palatinate and the movement was 

 defeated. It is therefore not correct to say, as has been 

 said, that the name Lancashire has only been adopted 

 in comparatively recent times. It was not " formerly 

 known as the Manchester Coppy or Manchester Fancy," 

 but an attempt to foist that nomenclature on the fancy 

 was frustrated by the breeders of Lancashire outside 

 Cottonopolis. 



Lovers of the Lancashire have in all times been prac- 

 tically confined to its home county and its neighbour — 

 Cheshire. Scattered here and there in other counties 

 North, South, East and West it has been, but in no other 

 counties has there ever been a body of breeders. This 

 seems strange because years ago, when the Crested Norwich 

 was far more popular than it is to-day, Lancashires were 

 eagerly sought after by breeders of that variety for the 

 purpose of crossing to improve the length and width of 

 body feather and the size and droop of the crest, but these 

 birds were used for crossing only, the}^ never captured 

 the admiration of the breeders who secured them for the 

 one purpose, and one purpose only. 



