264 
Our  Canaries 
CHAPTER  XVII. 
THE  LIZARD  CANARY. 
ITS    HISTORICAL  RECORD. 
AN  old  ancestral  line,  the  antiquity  of  the  Lizard  is  beyond  all  fear  of  doubt,  and 
laboured  argument  concerning  its  probable  origin,  long  lost  as  it  has  been  in 
obscurity,  is  so  much  useless  and  profitless  speculation,  that  we  take  the  bird  as  we 
find  it  in  the  earliest  days  of  which  we  possess  more  reliable  and  definite  records 
of  its  breeding  as  a  distinct  variety,  and,  in  this  place,  leave  its  origin  reposing  in 
the  oblivion  of  the  past.  True,  certain  attempts  have  been  made  to  construct  a 
definite  origin  for  the  variety  on  the  strength  of  some  remarks  of  an  early  writer, 
who  described  certain  birds  as  spotted  wild  Canaries,  which  he  declared  bred 
freely  in  confinement  when  caught.  But  as  these  supposed  wild  spotted  Canaries 
were  in  all  probability  some  of  the  Continental  Serins  we  have  referred  to  in  a 
previous  chapter,  and  probably  also  a  somewhat  far-fetched  description,  we  are  left 
just  as  deeply  enshrouded  in  the  maze  of  speculation.  For  if  the  theory  was 
correct,  it  implies  that  the  Lizard  was  the  direct  descendant  of  a  wild  Canary 
possessing  this  spotted  plumage  (which  in  our  days  is  termed  spangled)  in,  of 
course,  a  more  primitive  form  than  we  find  it  in  our  highly  cultivated  Lizards. 
This  being  so  one  is  naturally  constrained  to  ask  :  Where  is  this  wild  spotted 
Canary  to  be  found  now  ?  or  when  did  it  become  extinct  ? 
Its  earliest  history  in  this  country  is  closely  associated  with  the  Huguenot 
refugees,  who,  flying  from  persecution  in  their  native  land,  sought  sanctuary  on  our 
shores,  and  introduced  their  hobbies  to  the  English  people.  Canary  breeding 
being  a  popular  pastime  among  them,  and  the  Lizards  one  of  their  most  popular 
breeds,  it  is  not  surprising  that  we  find  distinct  records  of  the  bird's  appearance 
simultaneously  with  the  Huguenot  settlers  in  many  places  in  the  Eastern  Counties 
and  where  the  weaving  industries  were  located.  Thus  it  is  that  we  find  the  Lizard 
established  as  early  as  the  i6th  century  in  such  centres  as  Nottingham,  Middles- 
brough, Norwich,  and  Spitalfields  in  London,  the  latter  a  centre  of  the  silk 
weaving  industry  in  those  days.  From  these  places  it  gradually  spread  northwards, 
finally  becoming  settled  in  Lancashire,  where,  particularly  around  Rochdale 
and  Oldham,  it  has  to  this  day  its  principal  stronghold. 
ANCESTRY  AND  NOMENCLATURE. 
With  a  variety  of  such  unique  and  striking  characteristics  it  is  our  intention 
to  allow  our  most  experienced  practical  breeders  and  expert  judges  of  the  bird  as 
it  is,  and  as  it  should  be,  to  speak  for  themselves,  and,  as  their  generous  assistance 
has  far  exceeded  the  limit  of  our  space  (a  well-deserved  tribute  to  the  good-fellow- 
ship and  freemasonry  existing  among  them)  we  must  introduce  them  to  our 
readers  without  further  preamble.     "This  charming  variety,"  writes  Mr.  Barker 
