Our  Canaries 
85 
two  strips  of  flat  elastic,  about  an  inch  wide,  fastened  across  the  inside  of  the 
lid  parallel  to  each  other,  and  about  three  inches  apart. 
As  regards  the  outer  fastening  there  is  nothing  that  will  comply  better 
with  the  requirements  than  leather  straps  with  buckles.  Two  straps  should 
encircle  each  case,  and  be  permanently  attached  in  order  to  avoid  the  risk 
of  their  becoming  detached  and  lost  during  a  show.  They  must  be  so  fixed 
that  the  buckles  fit  over  the  opening  of  the  lid.  In  order  to  prevent  tampering 
with  the  exhibits,  or  the  interference  of  the  curious  en  route,  it  is  only  necessary 
to  place  a  dab  of  sealing  wax,  or  a  wafer  over  the  junction  of  the  lid  and 
the  box,  and  to  attach  the  show  address  label  with  a  string  that  goes  all 
round  the  cages,  and  seal  the  knot  by  which  it  is  tied  with  wax.  This 
method  is  both  expeditious  and  secure,  and  reduces  the  risk  of  tampering  with 
the  exhibits  en  route  to  a  mmimum. 
A  JUDGE'S  COUNSEL. 
Upon  the  question  of  exhibiting,  that  well-known  and  popular  judge,  Mr. 
Geo.  Gardner,  of  London,  has  very  kindly  contributed  some  excellent  advice 
on  the  subject,  as  seen  from  a  judge's  standpoint.  "  Anyone  who  intends  to 
succeed  in  the  exhibition  of  Canaries,"  he  writes,  "  will  have  to  observe  rigidly 
and  religiously  the  strictest  attention  to  feather  conditions.  It  is  of  no  use 
staging  a  bird  in  these  days  that  is  out  of  health,  or  lacking  in  bloom.  The 
race  in  this  respect  is  very  keen.  What  a  judge  looks  for  is,  first  of  all,  a 
clean  bird.  Of  course,  that  is  allowing  that  you  have  the  requisite  points 
present  of  type,  quality  and  colour. "  A  dirty  or  soiled  bird,  be  it  ever  such 
a  good  one,  vexes  a  judge,  and  often  an  otherwise  good  bird  is  pegged  back 
points  for  that  reason.  Some  exhibitors  are  very  slovenly  in  this  respect.  It 
may  be  from  lack  of  time,  it  may  be  from  neglect.  Whichever  it  may  be  it 
is  antagonistic  to  full  success.  Judges  demand  the  presence  of  cleanliness 
and  nattiness,  and  they  penalise  its  absence. 
"  By  nattiness  is  meant  compactness  of  feather — the  absence  in  all  plain- 
head  varieties  of  looseness  or  untidiness  of  feather,  either  at  the  thighs  or  root 
of  the  tail.  It  is  no  use  showing  a  bird  of  the  plainhead  varieties  with  '  trousers,' 
or  slack  thigh  feather,  or  a  loose  feather  at  the  tail  root.  It  is  no  use  the 
novice  concluding  that  this  is  a  minor  item — it  is  not  so.  A  very  fine  point 
often  decides  the  issue,  and  this  frequently  is  that  fine  point. 
THE  VALUE  OF  MINUTE  DETAIL. 
"  By  cleanliness  a  judge  means  freedom  from  soils.  Birds  are  fed  so  levelly 
and  of  such  exquisite  colour ;  birds  are  bred  so  carefully,  and  of  such  beautiful 
feather ;  the  most  scientific  attention  is  paid  to  shape,  that  in  these  days  of 
keen  competition,  a  judge  is  bound  to  be  influenced  in  his  decisions  by  what 
the  novice  may  consider  minor  details.  They  are  not  so.  They  frequently 
mean  all  the  diff"erence  between  a  'First'  and  a  'V.H.C.,'  which  latter  is 
