12 
Canary Breeding 
This prepares us to receive Hervieux's list of varieties of the canary in 1713 
with a considerable amount of assurance that we are dealing with facts, which, 
being properly interpreted, are of the utmost importance. 
But we meet in all translators, and in many subsequent writers (whether 
professed translators or not) with great errors even in the rendering of the variety- 
names. 
For instance, the writer of the canary article in Rees' Encyclopaedia (1819) 
translates the term " Isabelle " as pink, and gaily proceeds to speak of the Pink 
Canary, and also the Pink Canary with red eyes ! This translation occurs also in 
ButFon. 
Before quoting the varieties, in order to understand the nomenclature, it is 
desirable to give the following extracts: " II faut remarquer qu'il y a bien des 
Serins dont je viens de parler, qui ont outre la queue blanche, des plumes blanches 
a une aile, et souvent aux deux ailes; mais malgre cette difference particuliere, les 
Curieux ne leur donnent pas un autre nom, que Serin a queue blanche, ou race 
de Panachez," which may be translated as follows : — 
" It is necessary to mention that there are many Canaries of which I am about to 
speak, which have besides the white tail, the feathers white of one wing, and often 
of both wings ; but in spite of this particular difference. Fanciers (Curieux) do not 
give them another name than Canary with white tail, or Variegated kind." 
It is evident that variegation, as we now know it, was just beginning at that 
time, and that it arose fi'om the sporting types of which "Gris," "Jaune" and 
"Blonde" are mentioned. For Hervieux says that we know canaries of these 
types when they are of the variegated race, as having: — 
1. Several white feathers in the tail. 
2. Several white claws (ergots). 
3. Le duvet. 
The transitional stage of the bird is also shown by Hervieux's uncertainty as to 
the kinds to include under the term " variegated race," for he also adds (p. 272) : 
" I say also that there are canaries which are of the variegated race, which have 
not, however, any of the three marks, which I have given above, or which have 
not even one of them ; so that it is necessary to leave it to the good faith of those 
who sell them to you for the variegated race." 
These explanations -prove that the term " race de Panachez " strictly means 
with tail white, with a few white body feathers, or with both these variations from 
self-grey, or self-cinnamon in their different shades. 
In our muling experiments we have shown that the first variations to occur are 
these particular ones, viz. white feathers in tail, and small white spot at the back of 
the head, or on other parts of the body (Plate I, fig. 1). Our term variegated is 
denoted towards the end of the list ("which commences with the commonest and 
finishes with the most rare ") by the single word " panache, " e.g. " Serin Panache 
commun." 
