254 
Our  Canaries 
EXCEPTIONS  THAT  PROVE  THE  RULE. 
"  One  would  think  that  in  a  matter  that  admitted  of  so  much  variation  the 
two  fundamental  rules  that  we  have  formulated — (i)  That  a  Cinnamon  or  Cinna- 
mon-bred cock  paired  to  a  non-Cinnamon-bred  hen  can  throw  only  Cinnamon 
daughters,  and  (2)  that  a  Cinnamon  hen  cannot  throw  any  Cinnamon  youngsters 
except  when  paired  to  a  Cinnamon-bred  cock — could  not  be  in  all  cases  rigidly 
maintained,  and  I  have  known  several  instances  where  No.  i  has  appeared  to 
lapse.  I  once  looked,  with  the  breeder,  into  a  nest  of  young  Crest  stock,  and 
found  two  birds  with  pink  eyes  and  cinnamon  variegation  ;  one  turned  out  to  be  a 
cock,  and  the  breeder  did  not  know  of  the  existence  of  Cinnamon  blood  in  either 
parent.  The  mother  was  a  clear  body  with  dark  crest  of  known  dark  eye  non-Cin- 
namon pedigree,  and  a  great  winner  herself,  and  the  father  was  a  Green-marked 
and  a  green-eyed.  One  would  conclude  he  was  Cinnamon-bred.  Another  case 
was  of  a  nearly  self-Cinnamon  cock  and  a  winner  of  prizes  at  Crystal  Palace  and 
many  other  places;  he  was  a  big  feathery  bird,  with  a  well-shaped  but  somewhat 
small  crest ;  his  father  was  a  good  Green,  known  to  have  some  Cinnamon  in  him, 
but  the  mother's  family  had  none  that  could  be  traced.  A  breeder  in  Essex 
bought  a  pair  of  dark-eyed,  green-marked  birds,  and  bred  a  clear  body  Cinnamon 
Crested  cock  from  them,  which  was  quite  contrary  to  rule  and  to  everyone's 
expectation.  Another  prize-winning  cock,  with  good  cinnamon  crest  and  cinna- 
mon wings,  was  thought  by  its  breeder  to  be  a  hen.  These  instances  are  quite  out 
of  the  usual  course,  and  seeing  the  very  great  difficulties  in  the  path  of  those  who 
try  to  breed  such  cocks,  and  the  poor  success  which  has  often  attended  their 
struggles  of  many  years,  are  inexplicable,  for  even  if  they  were  entirely  new 
"  sports  "  one  would  expect  them  more  likely  to  occur  in  hens  than  in  cocks.  Per- 
haps these  are  exceptions  that  prove  the  rule.  But  the  second  rule  as  to  Cinna- 
mon hens  being  unable  to  throw  cinnamon-coloured  chicks  except  when  paired  to 
a  Cinnamon-bred  cock,  I  have  never  known  to  vary,  but  why  it  should  be  so  rigid 
I  cannot  explain,  nor  has  any  reason  ever  been  offered  so  far  as  I  know.  I  think 
it  one  of  the  greatest  mysteries  connected  with  Canary-breeding." 
THE  IDEAL  BIRD. 
To  describe  the  Cinnamon  as  it  should  be  apart  from  its  colour  properties, 
which  must  always  have  precedence  over  all  other  points,  we  want  a  stout, 
chubby,  cobbily-built,  and  well-proportioned  bird  of  the  true  Norwich  type,  rather 
larger  in  size,  or  about  y'ms.  over  all.  Though  no  actual  limit  of  size  is  imposed 
by  such  standards  as  exist  at  the  present  time,  a  good-sized  bird  is  generally  pre- 
ferred, given  a  good  sound  colour  and  other  desirable  features,  in  which  points  the 
large  birds  are  most  apt  to  fail,  but  if  this  size  were  universally  adopted  it  would 
enable  the  birds  to  stand  out  sufficiently  distinct  as  a  class  apart  from  the  Norwich 
Plainhead  without  exceeding  a  reasonable  limit  to  which  colour  and  all  other 
characteristics  could  eventually  be  added  in  as  rich  and  typical  a  form  as  is  more 
