320 
Our  Canaries 
I 
CHAPTER  XXII. 
THE  BORDER  FANCY. 
T  is  an  axiom  that  facts  are  often  stranger  than  fiction,  and  the  story  of  the 
Border  Fancy  Canary,  had  we  but  space  to  go  into  it  fully,  would  reveal  a 
strange  tale  indeed.  Little  more  than  20  years  ago  it  was  a  plebian  nondescript, 
unhonoured,  yet  not  unknown,  with  no  more  distinguished  patronymic  than  the 
Common  Canary  :  to-day  it  is,  so  to  speak,  the  pride  and  the  joy  of  princes,  with 
the  aristocratic  name  of  Border  Fancy  Canary,  bestowed  upon  it  by  its  devoted 
admirers  in  conclave  assembled  on  the  5th  July,  1890,  and  by  which  it  has  ever 
since  been  known.  For  some  time  previous  to  this  the  bird  had  been  attracting 
attention,  and  the  term  of  Common  Canary  has  fallen  into  disrepute,  and  the  bird 
was  being  exhibited  under  the  name  of  Cumberland  Fancy  at  some  shows,  and  as 
the  Common  Canary  at  others.  There  was  in  fact  some  rivalry  and  jealousy 
betwixt  breeders  in  different  localities  for  the  honour  of  giving  the  bird  its  fancy 
name.  But,  happily,  wise  counsels  prevailed,  and  it  was  eventually  agreed  to 
sever  the  nomenclature  from  any  limited  locality,  and  adopt  a  name  representative 
of  all  the  Border  counties  of  England  and  Scotland  where  the  bird  was  extensively 
bred  and  kept.  To-day  it  is  one  of  the  most  widely  distributed  and  popular 
varieties  we  possess-. 
ITS  RISE  AND  PROGRESS. 
That  the  future  prospects  of  the  bird  were  not  generally  recognised  at  this 
time  is  known  by  the  notes  contributed  by  Mr.  J.  S.  Wilson,  who  writes  us  :— 
"'The  breed  can  never  become  popular.'— So  wrote  an  All-England  judge  to  the 
writer  many  years  ago,  when  the  variety  was  unknown  outside  the  Border  counties. 
That  was  the  honest  opinion  of  the  keen  critic,  but  it  only  serves  to  show  how 
hazardous  it  is  to  attempt  to  forecast  future  events. 
"The  Border  should  not  be  crossed  with  any  other  breed,  as  it  contains 
within  itself  all  the  elements  necessary  for  scientific  development.  It  cannot  be 
improved  from  outside  sources  as  some  other  breeds.  We  remember  in  the  old 
days  certain  fanciers  taking  a  leap  into  the  unknown  by  introducing  Norwich  blood 
with  a  view  to  improvement.  The  result  was  disastrous,  the  fusion  producing 
objectionable  features  which  would  require  a  generation  to  eradicate.  And  so  it  was 
with  the  marked  variety ;  the  small  Yorkshire  was  requisitioned  on  account  of  its 
tendency  to  reproduce  the  required  markings.  But  the  result  was  again  unsatis- 
factory ;  what  was  gained  in  markings  was  more  than  counterbalanced  by  the  loss 
in  type  and  quality.  The  secret  of  markings  lies  in  the  Cinnamon  blood.  Given 
this  and  suitable  selection,  there  is  nothing  in  the  way  of  marks  that  cannot  be 
accomplished." 
