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Our  Canaries 
Whenever  two  buffs  are  mated  for  some  special  purpose,  as  may  be  done  oc- 
casionally, let  them  be  as  smooth  and  close  in  feather  as  possible,  even  though  a 
little  size  has  to  be  sacrificed.  Also  see  that  the  heads  are  small  and  neat,  and 
the  necks  as  long  and  thin  as  possible.  Given  these  desirable  qualities,  and  plenty 
of  reach  and  style,  long  and  well  set  on  stilty  legs,  if  the  birds  are  running  thin 
and  too  slender  in  body  one  may  have  recourse  to  double-buffing  to  get  increased 
substance ;  but  one  must  go  back  at  once  to  the  yellow  and  buff  mating. 
Short  legs  and  bare  thighs,  and  any  suspicion  of  corpulency  below  the  chest, 
are  bad  points  of  the  true  Belgian,  and  should  be  corrected  by  mating  such  birds 
respectively  with  specimens  coming  of  stock  excelling  in  length  of  leg,  neat  and 
well-feathered  thighs,  and  slender  tapering  bodies  below  the  chest.  Any  weak- 
ness in  shoulder  should  be  compensated  for  by  introducing  cocks  as  square  and 
massive  in  this  important  Belgian  feature  as  can  be  procured.  Above  all,  let  the 
breeding  pairs  consist,  as  far  as  possible,  of  specimens  brimful  of  style  and  action. 
The  bird  that  needs  no  coaxing  in  the  show  cage,  requires  little  training,  but  seems 
to  fall  naturally  into  position  as  soon  as  one  begins  to  examine  it  in  its  cage  is, 
other  points  being  equal,  the  bird  par  excellence  for  the  breeding  cage. 
BREEDING  MARKED  BELGIANS. 
A  large  field  of  work  exists  for  the  enthusiastic  breeder  of  a  strain  of  marked 
Belgians ;  for,  strange  though  it  may  appear,  this,  one  of  our  oldest  breeds,  is 
peculiarly  deficient  in  markings.  Not  that  marked  birds  are  not  to  be  found,  but 
when  they  do  occur  other  indispensable  Belgian  characteristics  are  either  absent 
or  of  a  very  low  order,  and  marked  specimens  of  the  true  Belgian,  with  plenty  of 
reach  and  style,  fine  head,  wedge-shaped  and  nicely  tapering  body — which  are 
easily  trained  and  readily  get  "  into  position  " — are  exceedingly  rare. 
Here,  then,  is  a  fine  chance  for  a  beginner  who  aspires  to  take  a  leading  place 
in  the  Fancy  with  a  strain  of  his  own  making.  By  waiting  patiently  to  evolve  a 
race  of  pure  marked  Belgians  and  systematically  training  the  birds  as  much  as 
possible  to  aid  in  developing  nerve  and  style,  the  object  would  undoubtedly  be 
accomplished  in  due  course.  The  constant  and  systematic  training  of  the  birds 
would  form  an  important  and  indispensable  part  of  the  work,  as  it  would  tend  to 
have  an  effect  on  the  progeny  in  due  course,  and  thus  help  towards  the  realisation 
of  one's  hopes.  But  such  a  task  must  not  be  expected  to  succeed  in  a  year  or 
two.  On  the  contrary  it  might,  and  doubtless  would,  occupy  a  number  of  years 
to  perfect  a  strain  of  good-marked  Belgians,  but  there  would  be  many  rewards 
by  the  way,  as  the  birds  would  rapidly  make  their  way  to  the  front  in  the  exhi- 
bition world,  and  win  many  new  recruits  to  the  Belgian  Fancy.  Thus  the  noble 
hunch-back  of  Canarydom  would  be  popularised  and  saved  for  posterity. 
It  is  often  stated  that  the  Belgian  is  of  a  weakly  and  delicate  constitution. 
A  certain  amount  of  truth  will  lie  in  such  a  statement  when  the  birds  are  kept  and 
bred  in  unwholesome  environments,  or  on   the  principle  that  it  needs  any 
