CHAPTER XIII 



THE CRESTED NORWICH 



The King of the Fancy. 



Forty years ago there was a discussion in the fancy 

 press as to which bird was entitled to the high-sounding 

 appellative "The King of the Fancy." Up till that 

 time it had been claimed by lovers of the Belgian for the 

 breed in which they were interested, but the breeders 

 of the Crested Norwich disputed the right, the chief 

 arguments being that Crested Norwich were far more 

 widely bred, had a more extended classification, were 

 more difficult to breed to a high state of perfection, 

 and commanded a far better market than did the Belgian. 

 These points were unanswerable at that time, and if 

 they were then how much more are they to-day ? At 

 that time Belgians of the highest class would not com- 

 mand more than £20, whilst Crested Norwich were fre- 

 quently sold for £30, £40, and £50. The sale by Messrs. 

 Mackley Bros, of a very famous bird, known as " King of 

 the Champions," for £70, just over thirty years ago, 

 created a sensation at the time, but a year or two after 

 a still greater sensation was caused by the refusal of 

 £100 for the wonderful bird, " King of the Season," which 

 was bred by Mr. Toward, of Spennymoor. At that time 

 Spennymoor was a veritable hot-bed of the Fancy, and 

 some wonderful birds were bred in and around that little 

 mining town away in Durham. From time to time quite 

 a number of birds have changed hands at prices ranging 

 from £50 to £100, but the climax was reached three 

 seasons back when the late Bernard Steel paid Mr. CoUedge, 

 of Derby, £150 for a Crested Norwich. Included in that 

 deal were two other birds, one at £65, and another at 



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