Our  Canaries 
227 
CHAPTER  XIV. 
THE  BELGIAN  CANARY. 
ITS  OBSCURE  ORIGIN. 
IN  the  Belgian  we  have  truly  a  deposed  King  indeed.  From  the  proud  position 
of  being  universally  recognised  by  the  title  of  "  King  of  the  Fancy,"  with  a 
great  host  of  admirers  who  bred  and  loved  it  for  its  own  sake,  and  as  many  more 
who  sought  after  it  untiringly  to  assist  in  making  new  breeds,  or  improving 
existing  varieties  by  conferring  upon  them  a  portion  of  its  own  unique  qualities, 
we  now  find  it  in  the  hands  of  a  very  few  of  its  most  ardent  old  admirers  who 
preserve  it  from  immediate  extinction.  How  it  first  originated  will  probably 
never  be  known.  In  this,  as  in  the  case  of  all  our  earliest  and  most  distinct 
breeds,  it  is  our  misfortune  that  the  days  of  universal  education  of  the  masses 
and  cheap  literature  were  undreamed  of  when  it  was  in  a  state  of  evolution,  and, 
in  consequence,  records  as  to  how  or  whence  it  arose  are  conspicuous  by  their 
absence.  Whether  the  Belgian  is  an  exaggerated  creation  of  the  early  type  of 
Lancashire,  or  the  Lancashire  a  degenerate  type  of  Belgian  we  may  never  know, 
though  it  is  highly  probable  that  some  relationship  existed  between  the  early 
types  of  these  two  breeds.  The  pity  of  this  lack  of  definite  knowledge  of  origin 
lies  in  the  fact  that  although  we  owe  practically  all  our  popular  modern  breeds 
to  the  influence  of  a  very  few  ancient  breeds  such  as  the  Belgians,  the  neglect  of 
these  ancestral  stocks,  should  it  result  in  their  extinction,  must  at  the  same  time 
extinguish  the  most  valuable  material  fanciers  ever  possessed,  or  may  possess  in 
the  future,  for  the  production  of  new  and  distinct  breeds.  It  is  a  fatal  policy 
analogous  to  hugging  the  shadow  whilst  unconsciously  allowing  the  substance  to 
pass  away. 
ITS  CONTINENTAL  STATUS. 
Even  on  the  Continent,  where  it  originated,  and  in  former  yeairs  enjoyed  the 
greatest  popularity,  it  is  rapidly  declining,  according  to  Mr.  James  F.  Dewar,  of 
Edinburgh,  than  whom  no  British  fancier  is  better  able  to  express  an  opinion  on 
this  matter.  "  Formerly,"  writes  Mr.  Dewar,  "  there  were  many  ardent  fanciers 
of  this  lovely  variety  of  Canary  to  be  found  in  all  parts  of  the  country  and  in 
flourishing  societies,  and  many  exhibitions  took  place  every  year  at  the  following 
towns :  Brussels,  Antwerp,  Courtrai,  Bruges,  Grammont,  Ostend,  and  Ghent;  but 
now,  alas,  as  the  Flemish  people  say,  '  Time  consumes  cities  ;  all  heroes  die.' 
Consequently,  time  also  destroys  the  fancy  for  our  lovely  Canary  birds,  and  the 
Posture-Vogel,  or  bird  of  position,  has  waned  in  popularity." 
**  Ghent  and  Antwerp  are  now  the  only  towns  where  Belgians  are  bred,  and 
exhibitions  held.  Up  to  a  few  years  ago  there  were  three  societies  in  Ghent,  but 
at  the  present  moment  there  is  but  one,  and  even  that,  though  it  boasts  an  origin 
