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Our  Canaries 
of  the  tail,  the  tail  itself  being  81  to  g^cm.  in  length,  which,  practically,  is 
equivalent  to  7  to  7fin.  and  3|-  to  3f in.  respectively.  It  poses  itself  elegantly, 
and  stands  well  up  on  its  legs.  The  plumage  is  fine,  long,  and  silky,  feathers  on 
the  breast  being  boldly  curled,  and  the  long  plumage  on  the  back  is  parted  down 
the  middle,  and  falls  over  the  wings  on  each  side,  at  the  lower  part  meeting  with 
the  feathers  which  curl  upwards  from  the  thighs  ;  the  feathers  at  the  back  of  the 
neck  curl  upwards,  and  sometimes  end  in  a  point  at  the  back  of  the  head,  and  the 
long  feathers  at  the  base  of  the  tail  fall  loosely  over  on  each  side.  The  tail  is 
forked  at  the  end,  and  the  wings  meet,  or  may  even  cross  over  each  other  a  little 
at  the  tips. 
THEIR   EARLY  DISSEMINATION. 
The  recent  introduction  of  the  breed  into  this  country,  which  dates  from 
about  1899,  when  some  specimens  were  shown  at  the  Crystal  Palace  and  at- 
tracted considerable  attention  as  avian  novelties,  is  by  no  means  their  first 
appearance  in  English  Fancy  circles,  for  they  were  being  bred  as  long  as  50  years 
ago  in  a  desultory  way  in  many  parts  of  the  country,  and  were  also  used  in  crossing 
with  several  other  breeds.  Where  abundance  of  feather  was  wanted,  the  old 
Dutch  was  being  used  to  implant  it.  It  occupies  much  the  same  position  in  the 
West  Indies  as  the  common  nondescript  Canary  does  with  us.  If,  as  we  may 
reasonably  assume,  the  birds  found  their  way  to  the  far  West  by  means  of  the 
Dutch  trading  vessels  in  the  old  days,  it  must  naturally  add  some  colour  after  all 
to  the  claims  of  Dutch  breeders  being  the  originators  of  the  bird. 
THE    OLD    FRILLS    IN    THE  WEST. 
Writing  us  on  the  breed,  Mr.  C.  I.  Young,  of  Frome,  says: — "  I  have  made 
enquiries  in  the  West  of  England,  and  find  that  several  old  fanciers,  about  50  years 
ago,  kept  what  they  called  Dutch  Canaries,  something  after  the  style  of  the  present 
day  bird,  but  without  the  elaborate  frill  seen  on  the  birds  exhibited  to-day.  This 
is  confirmed  by  Mr.  J.  Reece,  of  Bristol,  who  well  remembers  them  being  bred  in 
the  city.  It  has  been  my  experience  that  birds  coming  from  the  South  of  France 
require  a  lot  of  attention,  as  they  seem  very  subject  to  bronchitis  and  asthma  until 
acclimatised,  but  once  they  get  over  their  trouble  they  are  much  the  same  as  our 
English  breeds.  They  are  not  so  difficult  to  breed  as  high-class  Crests,  and  do  not 
require  half  theattention.  It  is  not  necessary  to  pay  a  big  price  for  birds  for  breeding. 
I  paired  a  nice  yellow  hen,  with  good  frills,  to  a  well-bred,  but  plain-backed,  cock, 
and  produced  almost  as  good  young  from  this  pair,  which  would  be  worth  about 
70/-,  as  I  did  from  my  19 10  champion  cock  and  3rd  Palace  hen.  I  mention  this 
to  show  that  it  is  not  essential  to  purchase  show  birds  to  produce  good  specimens. 
I  would  advise  anyone  taking  up  this  variety  to  get  feeders  ready,  as  not  a  single 
hen  of  mine  would  bring  up  a  young  one.  There  is  a  peculiarity  attached  to  Frills 
that  I  have  not  noticed  in  any  other  variety  that  I  have  kept.  It  is  that  in  very 
dull  weather,  when  resting,  or  when  out  of  condition,  the  feather  seems  to  lose  its 
