Perfection of Marking. 99 



clumsy patch which happens to enclose the eye within its limits, and the delicately-pencilled 

 spectacle-mark which gives such a distinctive style to the head of an Evenly-marked Canary. 

 Sometimes a mark is found immediately in front of the eye, extending no farther. When 

 this is the case it is, in the majority of instances, clear and decided, though only small ; but 

 such a mark is, in our estimation, of infinitely greater value than one of the blotch type. 

 Sometimes the front of the eye is clear, and the marking runs off from behind it ; this is also 

 a good mark when clear and decided. But the perfection of marking should commence in 

 the front of the eye, and passing above and beneath with a clearly-defined edge, continue 

 its course in the same curve as the outline of the head, and run away to a point. This gives 

 us a short rounded mark in the front and a long pointed one behind. Such pencilling can 

 occasionally be met with as perfect as if put on with a brush ; but the general form is by no means 

 so regular, and perfection is so rare that any decent approach to it is valuable. ' There should be 

 no break in it, and no disposition to enlarge into a cheek-mark, any tendency in that direction 

 detracting much from its merit. Neither should it reach so far above the eye as to threaten the 

 crown ; but whatever the character of the mark, clear outline is absolutely imperative. We do not 

 object to a heavy mark, if it be only decided and have no tendency to the posterior enlargement 

 we have referred to as constituting a cheek-mark. Equally objectionable is anterior enlargement ; 

 which, when it reaches the beak and begins to creep up the skull, ceases to be a " mark." It 

 sometimes happens also that the mark runs round in the direction of the back of the skull ; 

 this also is objectionable, and of little worth. 



The wing-marking should be confined to the flights, and there is no fixed limit to the 

 number constituting a show-wing ; it is all a matter of taste, and the value of an exact wing is too 

 great to afford room for disputing as to the extent of the marking. Some fanciers like the entire 

 half of the wing dark ; but we think seven feathers the extreme limit for beauty, and prefer only 

 four, especially in a Jonque. We need scarcely say they must be the inner feathers and must 

 form a perfect V, the point of each feather meeting its fellow, and the lighter brownish colour of 

 the outside edge matching exactly with the corresponding bar on either wing. Slovenly carriage 

 is fatal to a telling display, and the heavier the marking, the worse such carriage makes it look. 

 Though we say the dark feathers should be confined to the flights, many wings we have taken 

 notes of have had the corresponding coverts dark also ; indeed, it is sometimes astonishing, on 

 expanding a wing for the purpose of counting the feathers, to find how large a portion of it is 

 dark. But this is not of so much importance except in close competition, in which the nearest 

 approach to exactness must win, other points being equal. The worst blemishes are the presence 

 of occasional light feathers among the dark ones, and the opposite ; and also an obstinate very 

 black feather, which sometimes grows in the most provoking way among the bastard quills. 

 Dark feathers will also frequently appear among the smaller coverts, the first row often being 

 wholly dark, and though these are hidden by the scapulars when the bird is at rest, they show 

 themselves when the wing is raised, and the bird is said to have black " butts." 



A dark feather on either side of the tail is an addition to the markings, but a questionable 

 advantage to a Norwich bird, because it is so frequently accompanied by dark flue at the base that 

 what is gained one way is lost another. A bird with a marked tail and clear flue would beat one 

 with a clear tail ; but the difficulty is to get the gain without its equivalent loss. And when, in 

 addition to this, we consider that the dark tail-feather is scarcely visible unless the bird be 

 examined for it, so much so that its existence is not unfrequently overlooked and would sometimes 

 not even be suspected but for the tell-tale dark flue, its value as a show point cannot be much. 

 The most that is seen of it at any time is the extreme outside edge, and unless there be 



