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Our  Canaries 
not  seldom  given  as  a  solatium — partly  to  hint  to  the  exhibitor  that  he  has 
a  good  thing,  and  partly  as  a  punishment  for  slovenliness  and  neglect. 
"  Lack  of  nattiness  is  sometimes  produced  through  jadedness  or  overshowing. 
'Do  not  be  too  greedy'  is  the  moral  to  draw  here.  Clean  feet,  clean  nostrils, 
aye,  cleanliness  all  round  the  root  of  the  beak,  and  clean  tail  tips,  are  essential 
details  of  staging.  Never  exhibit  a  clean  bird  in  a  dirty  cage.  Some  do.  Beware 
of  dust  also.  Dust  soils.  Watch  that  the  perches  are  clean,  and  the  cage  in 
keeping  with  the  bird.  To  spoil  the  ship  for  a  ha'porth  of  tar,  is  an  offence 
against  good  sense. 
"Do  not  put  a  bird  out  of  a  flight  direct  into  a  show  cage  and  expect  it 
to  face  the  music  of  streams  of  show-goers  and  critical  examiners  unperturbed. 
You  will  rue  it  if  you  do.  Give  it  a  little  training  by  acquaintance  with  a 
show  cage.  How  can  a  judge  fairly  weigh  the  merits  of  a  wild  or  unsteady 
bird,  maybe  with  a  tail  or  wing  feather  away  through  bashing  against  the 
cage  ?  The  exhibitor  must  think — and  think  diplomatically.  In  fact  there  is 
more  gained  and  lost  by  detail  and  '  finish,'  than  meets  the  eye  of  the  man 
who  is  in  too  big  a  hurry  to  stop  and  consider,  and  he  suffers  in  consequence. 
When  he  suffers  he  condemns  the  judge." 
ON  TRAINING. 
On  the  question  of  training  preparatory  to  exhibition  we  have  had 
various  opinions  expressed.  Mr.  A.  G.  Filby,  of  London  Fancy  fame,  writes  : — 
"  In  preparing  birds  for  exhibition,  beyond  getting  them  used  to  the  show  cage 
by  running  them  in  for  a  few  hours  daily,  I  do  nothing."  This  would  appear 
at  first  sight  contrary  to  the  general  opinion.  On  consideration,  however,  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  difference  is  more  apparent  than  real.  All  varieties  do 
not  require  the  same  amount  or  the  same  kind  of  training,  but  what  every 
single  exhibit  requires,  and  must  possess,  as  shown  by  our  judges'  comments, 
is  a  certain  amount  of  tameness,  and  a  readiness  to  show  confidence  in  humans. 
Yet  this  must  not  be  overdone.  It  should  stop  just  short  of  bringing  the 
bird  that  degree  of  tameness  when  it  wants  to  fight  and  play  with  every 
finger  that  approaches  its  cage.  In  this  condition,  a  judge  no  sooner  begins 
to  handle  a  bird's  cage  than  it  crouches  across  the  perch,  its  feathers  standing 
out,  and  wings  dropped,  challenging  the  visitor  to  fight ;  or,  maybe,  comes 
right  up  to  the  end  of  the  perch,  and  with  one  foot  on  the  perch  and  the 
other  gripping  the  wires  of  the  cage,  squeaks  out  its  challenge  in  this  manner. 
In  either  case  the  effect  is  the  same  in  preventing  a  judge  getting  a  proper 
view  of  the  more  necessary  points  of  excellence.  Their  chances  will  be  as 
seriously  handicapped   as   are   those  of  their  wild  and  unsteady  competitors. 
"Training  operations,"  write  Messrs.  Hopper  Bros.,  of  Keswick,  "should  be 
commenced  when  the  birds  are  five  weeks  old.  Do  not  neglect  the  bath  and 
plenty  of  fresh  air.      Should  you  decide  to  show,  do  not  send  them  on  a 
