Our  Canaries 
243 
PAST  AND  PRESENT. 
"Comparing  the  birds  of  former  days  with  those  of  to-day,"  writes  Mr.  John 
Garner,  of  Hazel  Grove,  "  I  cannot  see  much  difference.  There  were  some  grand 
birds  in  the  old  days,  just  as  there  are  now,  and  I  have  some  magnificent  stuffed 
specimens  as  good  as  the  present-day  birds.  But  upon  the  whole  they  are  better 
to-day  in  head,  neck,  coppy  and  substance.  The  birds  are  very  hardy,  and  some 
are  good  feeders.  In  breeding  Lancashires  you  must  not  expect  to  breed  all 
champions.  Begin  with  good  birds,  even  if  you  have  less  of  them,  and  try  to 
raise  a  strain  of  your  own.  If  you  only  buy  one  or  two  pairs  and  are  successful 
in  breeding,  you  will  be  able  to  save  a  few  hens  and  one  or  two  cocks ;  and  then 
by  acquiring  a  fresh  cock  and  one  or  two  hens  to  mate  up  with  these,  you  will  be 
able  to  go  on  for  some  years  without  breeding  too  closely,  and  only  introducing  a 
fresh  cross  occasionally.  By  keeping  a  careful  record  of  your  breeding  operations 
you  will  know  how  the  birds  are  bred,  and  thereby  be  enabled  to  mate  them  up  to 
greater  advantage.  If  you  breed  some  that  are  not  quite  so  large  as  some  others 
from  the  same  nests,  do  not  be  afraid  to  breed  from  them.  Blood  will  tell,  and  you 
are  likely  to  breed  good  birds  from  them  as  well  as  their  larger  brothers  and  sisters." 
FAULTS  TO  AVOID. 
In  mating  up  his  breeding  stock  the  Lancashire  breeder  must  have  a  keen 
eye  for  points  which  are  likely  to  be  reproduced  in  a  more  fixed  form,  and  often  of 
an  exaggerated  type  in  the  progeny.  Any  bird  showing  distinct  traces  of  Norwich 
Plainhead  blood  should  be  avoided  whenever  possible.  Indeed,  as  this  type  is 
held  to  be  a  disqualification  on  the  show  bench  it  would  be  best  to  rigorously  bar 
it  from  the  breeding  cage.  As  a  cross  the  Norwich  Crest  or  Crest-bred  has  been 
resorted  to,  but  it  is  a  step  in  the  wrong  direction  which  puts  one  back  several 
years  whilst  the  cross  is  being  bred  out  again.  Split  Coppies  when  they  accrue 
from  the  mating  of  double  Coppy  birds  or  when  one  of  the  parents  has  had  a 
similar  defect,  should  also  be  avoided  ;  as  also  should  hollow  backs ;  thin  necks, 
with  holes  at  back  ;  narrow  and  pinched  heads  ;  and  rough  horny-headed  birds. 
Squatty-shaped  birds  showing  little  or  no  thigh,  or  crouching  across  the  perch, 
should  only  be  mated  with  specimens  excelling  in  these  points  and  having  a  bold 
commanding  appearance.  In  like  manner  with  every  minor  fault  which  is  toler- 
ated in  a  breeding  bird  the  principles  of  compensation  must  be  fully  recognised, 
and  the  bird's  defective  points  correspond  with  superlative  qualities  possessed  by 
its  mate.  As  we  cannot  reasonably  expect  a  stock  of  breeding  birds  to  consist 
wholly  of  perfect  or  ideal  specimens,  it  is  only  by  the  constant  application  of  this 
principle  that  the  general  type  of  the  breed  is  gradually  improved,  and  the  ideal 
bird  slowly  but  surely  evolved. 
At  the  same  time,  to  depend  solely  upon  this  doctrine  and  begin  the  Fancy 
with  a  stock  of  mediocre  birds  is  the  height  of  folly.  The  years  of  steady  work 
and  perseverance  that  must  pass  before  one  can  hope  to  get  in  the  front  rank  of 
