226 CANARIES 



away whilst the yellow hens keep the quality of feather 



and style. 



In commencing, breed from pure self-coloured birds, 

 and leave all pied and greenish-coloured birds severely 

 alone. This is necessary to produce birds of great purity 

 of colour, and as the breed is a colour breed, colour is the 

 great essential. 



Having secured a strain of your own after a few seasons' 

 careful breeding, you can then introduce any cross that 

 may seem advisable. But don't go dabbling in cross- 

 ing till you have birds that you can rely on to produce 

 what you require. If you require size I should advise 

 you to pair a buff Cinnamon cock with a heavily 

 variegated or green buff Norwich hen of good quality ; 

 the Cinnamons from this cross will be hens, the cocks 

 will be green ; yet these cocks when paired to Cinnamon 

 hens will produce Cinnamons. Years ago, when Norwich 

 were much smaller than they are to-day, the Crest-bred 

 was used, but that is not advisable now, because you can 

 get size from the Norwich and not lose so much in quality 

 and colour as if you used a crest-bred. 



Cinnamon greens are known to be very fountains of 

 colour. From a cross such as I have mentioned you will, 

 by careful selection, be able to improve both the size 

 and colour of your birds without losing much in quality of 

 feather. Should your birds become too coarse in feather 

 and also need improvement in brilhancy of colour, the 

 best cross is a buff Cinnamon cock to a yellow Norwich 

 Plainhead hen of good size aud heavily variegated. 

 A good method of improving and deepening the ground 

 colour of the Cinnamon is to match two buffs, and then 

 mate up the produce in the usual way. This, however, 

 must only be done now and again, or you will lose colour 

 and quality of feather. 



Colour-feeding Cinnamons. 



In feeding Cinnamons for colour a different method 

 to that pursued in connection with the Norwich is needed. 

 The following recipe will be found of much service in 

 improving the colour of the birds fed upon it : — 



