THE NORWICH PLAINHEAD 211 



strain of Norwich ought always to have in his breeding- 

 room a large percentage of birds showing green blood, 

 ranging from the ticked birds and lightly marked to the 

 heavily marked or nearly green birds. 



The clear bird is the highest form of the breeder's art, 

 because it is farthest away from the wild canary, but the 

 constant pairing of birds that are clear or lightly ticked 

 tends to a loss of quaUty and colour, therefore it is neces- 

 sary to watch one's breeding stock in this respect. If 

 clear hens are used, then the cocks should be more or 

 less marked, and vice versa. This system of breeding is 

 followed by our most successful fanciers, and that fact 

 alone is its best recommendation. One great factor in 

 relation to the use of green blood is that not only does it 

 add to the quality of the birds, but it also improves colour 

 and increases the stamina of a strain. That is where the 

 old time breeders of such towns as Nottingham, North- 

 ampton, Leicester, Plymouth, and Norwich used to excel. 

 They bred for colour. They knew the value of the 

 variegated birds in producing both quality of feather 

 and colour, and they always used them in the production of 

 their clears and ticks. 



Colour must be Bred For. 



Colour being such an important factor in the awards 

 of the judges, it behoves the breeder to pay much atten- 

 tion to its production. There are those who argue that, as 

 colour may be put in through the medium of the food 

 during the moult, there is no need to breed for it. This is 

 a great fallacy, as the birds which are bred for colour take 

 colour feed more readily than those which are not so bred, 

 and, further, a bird which has a good store of natural 

 colour does not require so much colour food as one in 

 which breeding for colour has not been considered. 

 Yellow variegated cocks are most useful birds for keeping 

 up colour in a stud, but, strange to say, such birds as a 

 general rule fail somewhat in type, being built on rather 

 more racy lines than the clears. In using such birds 

 in the breeding-room they must be paired to stoutly 

 made buff hens. Buff-marked birds are often thick and 

 chubby, therefore can be used freely with yellow hens. 



