2 54 Ca.vja'/£s and Cage-Birds. 



The bird is virtuall}' found in but the two clear forms, the Ticked being considered 

 more in the hght of an undesirable departure from the standard than a variety to be 

 encouraged ; indeed, we have shown that the grey crest is looked upon with a certain degree 

 of disfavour, and is only tolerated because it cannot be entirely eliminated except at a great 

 sacrifice of some of the best types. Taking this view of the matter, it is only reasonable to 

 infer that the Lancashire breeder, while pursuing certain types of form and seeking to present 

 them clothed in a special way, is as much alive to the beauty of his colour as to its spot- 

 lessness, and that the same fastidious taste which excludes a tick, however faint, will appreciate 

 such purity of colour as, from the nature of his birds and his mode of breeding, he is able to 

 produce. And it is so. Breeding from Clears for a succession of generations is not the best 

 way to produce colour, and therefore much cannot be expected, but such as it is, it must be 

 good of its kind. Yellows must be Yellows, and Buffs must be Buffs, and the brighter the 

 better, though pale and washed-out to a degree is the best apology for Buff that can be 

 produced. Still, there must be no indecision in either form, no nondescript mealy admixture 

 to destroy the tone of the Yellow, nor any trait, peculiar to yellow feather alone, present 

 in the Buff to cheat the eye into a belief that it is better than it really is. It may be that 

 the Ticked birds play a not unimportant part in keeping up some brightness in the Yellows 

 in accordance with colour-producing laws; but, be that as it may, their colour is frequently 

 not to be despised, and, adding as it materially does to their beauty, is a feature to be main- 

 tained and credited with a reasonable value. But having said this much, we are driven back 

 upon the original position that the bird belongs entirely to another school, and we are at 

 once on delicate ground when we essay to temporise with principles. Admitting the force of 

 this, the fact presents itself to us in rather a stubborn way, that when it comes to practical 

 judging, and soundness and purity of colour have been satisfactorily disposed of, the question 

 of richness or depth resolves itself into one of gradually decreasing proportions. In two 

 scales before us, one of them framed or subscribed to by an experienced Lancashire breeder, 

 this property is very differently treated. In the one it is valued at 5 points in 100, and in 

 the Lancashire scale at 3 in 21, or nearly three times as much, which we consider an over- 

 estimated valuation, but one which may have arisen from an imperfect knowledge of the 

 comparative value of figures when used in the construction of scales, since the important 

 properties of " Good Back and zvell filled" and " Elegance of Shape" are, in the same scale, 

 assessed at 3 in 21 and 2 in 21 respectively, either being of vastly more value than colour; the 

 latter, in particular, is a very important property, and to place it behind colour is to subvert the 

 legitimate order of things in a serious manner. In a third scale we find ^'Length of bird and 

 fulness, the wings not crossing at the tips" expressed by i : 6 ; and " Richness of colour throughont" 

 valued at the same. This last, though purporting to be an approved Lancashire scale, we 

 cannot endorse. If "length of bird and fulness" conveys any meaning whatever, it is the idea 

 of massive proportions, and we cannot accept colour as its equivalent. Our purpose here is 

 to show that in a bird which is not a colour-bird we consider purity and decided character, 

 regarded as the boundary-line separating Yellow from Buff — two forms of feather which 

 represent materially different forms of bird — as of more importance than mere depth of 

 shade ; while the breeder is justly entitled to a reasonable value for a property obtained 

 under not the most favourable circumstances, but not such a value as tends to place it in a 

 false position. 



We proceed to the classification of these birds, which is very simple, and at once suggests 

 itself, being exactly in accord with the colour differences to which we have referred. 'I ho 



