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Our  Canaries 
especially  the  hens.  You  get  type  from  the  female  side,  and  size  and  colour 
from  the  male  ;  so  be  sure  you  get  good  coloured  cocks.  From  No.  i  pair  you 
will  breed  a  majority  of  selfs,  and  they  should  be  a  decent  colour.  From  No.  2 
pair  you  will  get  both  selfs  and  fouls.  No.  3  pair  will  throw  all  fouls.  Pair 
up  the  offspring  of  No.  i  pair  to  the  young  from  No.  2,  either  self  or  foul.  You 
will  have  to  be  careful  with  the  young  from  No.  3  pair.  Discard  all  that  are 
foul  at  the  vent  and  lower  part  of  the  body.  Pair  the  best  coloured  hens  from 
this  pair  to  the  darkest  coloured  cocks  from  No.  i  pair.  This  method  will  prevent 
the  youngsters  getting  too  dark  or  too  light.  If  you  continually  pair  self  to  self 
the  off-spring  will  get  too  dark,  and  the  pencilling  will  get  blurred  with  the  ground 
colour.  If  your  first  stock  is  fairly  good  in  colour  and  type  you  will  not  require 
fresh  blood  for  three  or  four  years." 
Continuing  Mr.  Metcalfe  says :  "  When  attending  a  G.C.A.  patronage  show, 
compare  the  Yorkshire  exhibits  with  the  Liverpool  birds.  You  will  see  the 
Yorkshire  better  in  type,  but  a  great  difference  in  colour.  This  has  been  brought 
about  by  introducing  green  hens  to  clear  cocks,  and  it  is  well-known  that  ninety 
per  cent,  of  the  clear  Yorkshires  have  Cinnamon  blood  in  them.  Introducing 
Cinnamon  blood  to  pure  Green  blood  makes  the  off-spring  bronzy  on  the  flights, 
and  a  smoky  black  on  the  back.  A  pure  Green  will  improve  in  colour  with  every 
moult,  but  Cinnamon-bred  Greens  go  darker  every  year.  If  it  is  necessary  to  intro- 
duce clear  blood  get  a  hen  from  an  even-mark  breeder  and  pair  with  an  extra- 
ordinary good  coloured  Green.  Keep  the  hens  and  discard  the  cocks  from  this 
pair.  You  will  then  gradually  graft  the  colour  into  the  most  typical  birds  you 
breed.  Many  believe  the  Cinnamon  is  the  foundation  of  colour,  but  I  have  proved 
it  otherwise.  Sometimes  you  breed  a  so-called  Cinnamon  (generally  a  hen)  from 
birds  that  you  know  are  pure  Green  bred  for  eight  or  nine  generations.  They  are 
a  washed-out  Cinnamon  colour,  but  always  have  good  type,  and  magnificent 
feather.  This  is  a  bird  I  advise  anyone  to  breed  with,  because  it  has  the  pure 
Green  pigment  in  its  blood,  and  it  carries  that  characteristic  called  quality,  which 
Cinnamon  blood  imparts.  You  can,  with  confidence,  pair  such  a  hen  to  your  best 
Green.  But  do  not  keep  a  Cinnamon  you  breed  from  the  second  or  third  genera- 
tion. These  you  may  be  sure  come  from  Cinnamons  that  the  Greens  were  bred 
from." 
A  PECULIARITY  OF  FEATHER. 
An  unusual  formation  not  infrequently  occurs  in  the  feather  growth  of  Greens 
which  is  referred  to  in  a  note  from  Mr.  P.  Clayton,  of  Halifax,  who  writes  :  "  One 
thing  in  breeding  Greens  which  seems  to  puzzle  all  is  the  square-tipped  feathers. 
How  it  occurs  has  not  been  discovered,  but  they  come  by  natural  means  on  birds 
when  moulting.  If  you  pull  them  out  they  grow  all  right  a  second  time,  then 
next  natural  moult  they  appear  again — this  I  have  proved.  It  is  a  natural 
growth,  caused  by  a  stagnation  in  moult,  or  through  being  unhealthy.  Several 
