A. R. Galloway 
3 
Davenport's paper, but a particular quality of feather which may occur in a green, 
variegated, or clear bird. The term " clear " signifies complete absence of dark 
feathers (Plate III, figs. 1 and 4). 
The 'plumage qualities " yellow " and " buff." One of the most important and 
interesting points in plumage is the difference between "yellow" and "buff" in the 
technical sense. In Davenport's paper no experiments are recorded concerning the 
inheritance of these primary and essential qualities, nor do they seem to be under- 
stood, for "jonque" (yellow) is not merely the "dense bright shade" of a colour, nor 
"mealy" (buff) the "dilute, dull tint" of a colour (vid. page 14). There may be 
numerous shades of yellow, also of buff, and the richest buff may be denser and 
brighter than the poorest yellow. The buff feathering is thicker, has more 
substance, and shows pale or buff tips. The yellow feathering is thinner, has less 
bulk, is more silky in quality, and shows no buff tips or mealiness (Plate III, 
figs. 1 and 2). In addition to having less bulk of feather, the yellow bird is 
usually smaller in body and more lanky than the buff*. 
Davenport and Riiss. No. 82 of my muling strain, a yellow variegated cock 
now in his seventh year, has green feathers on forehead, cheeks, on a back band 
f " broad, on both wings except three primaries on one side, and four on the other: 
the two outer tail feathers on each side are also green. Mated with clear hens 
bred from clear birds, 82's record to date is : — clears 15, even-marked 3, variegated 
2, the even-marked being green on wings only (secondaries) in one case ; on eyes, 
wings and tail (six pointed) in the second ; and marked on four innermost wing 
quills on one side, and one on the other, in the third case. The two variegated 
young are very similar to 82, one, however, showing a stronger tendency to even- 
marking. This record of 82 would seem to support Russ in his statement that the 
young of such a cross resemble either parent, and that any mixture of colours 
shows itself in the shape of even-marking j". 
* Bateson {Mendel's Principles of Heredity, 1909, p. 298) writes as follows : " The colours of 
Canaries are mostly of this class (unfixable because the result of the meeting of dissimilar gametes) and, 
in order to obtain the requisite shades of yellow, various crosses between pure-coloured varieties are 
made, scarcely any being bred pure for exhibition." 
It is difficult for a fancier to understand the meaning of this sentence, as the requisite shade 
of yellow is obtained from variegated birds, which cannot be called "pure-coloured." 
The only way I can catch any meaning in it, is to suppose that the technical qualities of "yellow" 
and "buff" are not understood by the author, and that he refers to the universal rule in the fancy to 
mate a "yellow" with a "buff," but this is not done for the purpose of producing the requisite shade 
of yellow, but to maintain the structure and quality of feather desirable, and to prevent deterioration in 
stamina and size. 
t Bateson (loc. cit. p. 43) gives: "Presence of black, as in green and pied types, dominant to 
absence of black, as in the various yellows and cinnamons." 
This cannot be universally true, for if so, my variegated yellow cock, No. 82, would have given very 
different results. 
Moreover, this season I have two yellow variegated cocks similar in appearance to No. 82, and similarly 
bred, paired to cinnamon-variegated hens, and, so far, out of seven young reared, only two show 
any sign of dark plumage ; in one of these merely a tick on the head, and in the other small wing- 
marks, and a small head mark. 
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