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Our  Canaries 
on  nomenclature.  This  colour,  far  from  being  sound  and  evenly  distributed 
throughout,  as  its  admirers  wish  to  see  it,  has  its  weak  spots  and  local  areas  where 
it  lingers  only  on  sufferance,  as  it  were,  and  begins  to  fade  and  rapidly  disappears 
the  moment  the  breeder  relaxes  his  efforts  to  keep  it  firmly  fixed  and  sound  in  hue 
in  these  localities.  The  base  of  the  under  mandibles,  the  throat,  and  the 
region  of  the  vent,  are  among  the  weakest  of  its  colour  strongholds.  Around 
the  waist,  the  thighs,  on  the  under  tail  coverts,  and  the  flights  and  tail  are  also 
weak  spots,  and  any  tendency  to  run  light  in  colour  in  any  of  these  places  must  be 
checked  at  once,  and  the  specimens  in  which  the  tendency  appears  mated  only  to 
birds  perfectly  sound  and  deep  in  tone  on  these  areas.  White  flue,  or  white  shafts 
in  the  feathers,  or  wholly  white  feathers  in  body,  wings,  or  tail,  are  fatal  defects  to 
the  self-Cinnamon  character.  These  foul  Cinnamons,  as  birds  showing  white 
feather  are  termed,  may  be  used  successfully  for  stock,  but  those  that  show  white 
or  run  very  light  in  colour  on  the  thighs,  throat,  and  vent  must  be  used  with  great 
caution,  as  these  faults  taken  in  the  order  given  are  about  the  worst  the  Cinnamon 
breeder  has  to  contend  with.  Heavy  dark  pencilling,  smoky  colour,  or  any  tinge 
of  green  should  also  be  avoided. 
TO  STRENGTHEN  COLOUR. 
Whenever  there  is  a  pronounced  inclination  on  the  Cinnamon  side  to  throw 
white  feathers  and  run  light  in  tone  generally,  it  should  be  corrected  by  the  intro- 
duction of  fresh  blood,  from  a  pure  self-Cinnamon  strain  if  possible,  which  is 
unrelated,  and  as  sound  and  rich  in  depth  of  colour  as  possible,  and  showing  the 
least  possible  tendency  to  sport  white  feathers.  But  when  this  kind  of  material  is 
not  available,  and  one  is  compelled  to  resort  to  alien  blood  to  restore  the  declining 
colour,  a  rich  self-green  Norwich  hen  mated  with  a  compact  yellow  Cinnamon 
cock,  bred  from  pure  Cinnamons  for  at  least  two  generations,  is  the  simplest  and 
best  first  cross  to  provide  the  necessary  material,  as  it  gives  less  trouble,  and  is  not 
so  likely  to  sport  unexpectedly  on  the  Cinnamon  side  in  future  years.  From  this 
cross  self-Cinnamons,  which  would  be  hens,  may  be  produced  at  once,  and  the 
soundest  and  most  typical  of  these  from  the  Cinnamon  standpoint,  should  be  used 
to  mate  back  to  pure  Cinnamon  cocks.  The  Green  cocks  which  will  be  produced 
from  this  cross  will  be  invaluable  colour  fountains  to  improve  colour  and  quality 
of  feather  in  the  Norwich.  But  these  Greens  should  not  be  thrown  over  indis- 
criminately. It  will  repay  the  breeder  to  test  them  before  disposal,  as  some  of 
them  when  mated  with  self-Cinnamon  hens,  bred  pure  for  at  least  two  generations, 
will  produce  self-Cinnamons  of  the  first  water,  and  full  of  high-class  Cinnamon 
characteristics,  and  will  breed  both  male  and  female  Cinnamons.  Not  all  these 
Green  first-cross  cocks  will  produce  these  results,  and  herein  lies  the  value  of  test- 
ing them  all  with  the  proper  kind  of  self-Cinnamon  hens  before  discarding  them  for 
further  Cinnamon  breeding. 
