Our  Canaries 
295 
COMPENSATORY  MATINGS. 
All  these  faults  must  be  compensated  by  superlative  merit  when  selecting  a 
partner  for  any  given  bird  in  the  breeding-cage.  The  mop-crest  being,  as  a  rule, 
brimful  of  Crest  blood  will  make  a  good  partner  to  compensate  somewhat  scanty 
head  feather  in  an  otherwise  good,  massive,  and  broad-skulled  Crest-bred — such  a 
bird  as  appears  almost  faultless,  having  a  perfect  shaped  skull  of  large  size  and 
good  wide  entrance,  with  good  lashing,  but  when  handled  is  found  to  be  a  trifle 
lacking  in  density  of  feather  on  the  skull.  A  flat  expansive  crest  should  be  mated 
with  a  heavily-feathered  and  well-lashed  Crest-bred  having  a  massive  dome-shaped 
skull,  and  as  dense  in  head  feather  as  possible.  If  such  a  Crest-bred  is  bred  from 
two  well  drooped  Crests  so  much  the  better.  A  Crest-bred  showing  a  good  wide 
entrance  and  a  wide  back  making  the  outline  of  the  skull  as  round  as  possible 
should  be  selected  as  a  mate  for  the  oval-shaped  Crest,  and  will  also  prove  a  useful 
mate  for  the  shield-crest.  Such  Crest-breds  should  possess  a  dense  cushion  of 
plumage  on  the  skull  sufficient  to  give  a  pronounced  forehead  or  rise  over  the  base 
of  the  beak. 
A  second  cross  from  the  Lancashire  Coppy  will  frequently  prove  of  the  greatest 
value  in  correcting  these  faults  when  one  is  short  of  suitable  material.  This  we 
say  advisedly,  for  the  breeder,  and  especially  the  beginner  whose  experience  must 
necessarily  be  limited,  must  never  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  indiscriminate  crossing 
is  always  to  be  deprecated,  and  that  in  these  days  the  Lancashire  has  much  less 
to  give  to  the  Crested  Canary  of  to-day  than  was  the  case  when  it  was  first  made 
use  of.  Indeed,  there  is  growing  up  a  strong  feeling,  and  one  that  is  not  void  of 
good  reason  and  evidence  to  support  it,  that  the  Crest  to-day,  with  its  own  ally 
the  Crest-bred,  contains  within  itself  all  the  elements  necessary  for  its  breeding 
and  to  keep  up  its  ideal  qualities  without  any  outside  assistance.  Consequently 
it  is  most  injudicious  to  turn  to  an  outside  cross  as  a  rem.edy  for  any  or  every 
failing.  The  initial  steps  should  be  to  find  suitable  material  from  among  pure 
bred  Crests  and  Crest-breds.  That  every  requisite  may  be  thus  found  admits  of 
no  doubt,  but  if  it  should  prove  wholly  unavailable  by  the  particular  breeder  who 
desires  it,  then  only  should  he  fall  back  upon  an  external  cross  as  a  last  resource. 
Even  then  he  may  discreetly  save  one  or  two  seasons  by  getting  ready-made 
material  in  the  shape  of  first  or  second  crosses,  as  may  be  required,  provided  he 
can  make  himself  satisfied  that  the  right  sort  of  raw  material  was  used  in  the 
making. 
AVOIDING  HEREDITARY  FAULTS. 
In  all  these  cases  of  selecting  suitable  partners  to  correct  faulty  points  it  is  of 
the  utmost  importance  that  the  birds  selected,  which  will  naturally  excel  as  much 
as  possible  in  the  points  they  are  desired  to  improve,  should  be  quite  free  from 
any  inherited  tendency  to  the  same  fault.  Not  only  is  it  essential  that  they  them, 
selves  should  excel  in  certain  features,  but  their  parents  also  must  have  been  quite 
BB  2 
