332 
Our  Canaries 
"  I  have  proved  over  and  over  again  that  type  is  produced  far  more  from  a 
good  shaped  hen  than  from  the  male  side,  so  my  advice  is,  always  endeavour  to 
breed  with  good  typical  hens.  Keeping  good  hens  year  after  year  and  breeding 
with  them  judiciously  will  fix  this  feature  in  your  strain.  Quality  of  feather  is 
gained  by  consistently  selecting  the  best  feathered  birds  for  stock,  and  by  a  splash 
of  cinnamon  blood.  Size  is  gained  by  double-buffing.  The  most  suitable  birds 
for  this  purpose  are  those  that  are  of  a  good  colour,  and  very  short  feathered ;  for 
preference,  one  clear  and  one  marked.  I  cannot  conscientiously  advise  the  use  of 
a  Crest-bred  hen.  Too  much  feather,  flat  heads  and  brows,  are  produced  by  such 
crossing.  Double-bufflng  is  not  so  rapid  in  effect  as  the  use  of  the  Crest-bred,  but 
it  is  much  safer.  Green  blood  is  the  fountain  of  colour.  To  obtain  what  is 
known  as  *  bronze  green '  (correct  green  for  providing  you  with  bright  and  deep 
colour),  also  quality  of  feather,  pair  a  clear  yellow  cock  to  a  buff  Cinnamon  hen. 
Keep  the  best  shaped  birds,  and  utilise  another  year.  The  progeny  from  these  will 
be  red  hot  in  colour  in  most  cases,  and  of  rich  silky  texture  of  feather.  In  using 
green  blood,  your  ambition  should  be  to  breed  good  clears  and  ticked  specimens 
at  the  same  time.  In  using  heavy  marked  cocks  to  clear  hens,  most  of  the  off- 
spring will  be  rather  on  the  heavy  side  ;  so  pair  ticked  or  clear  cocks  (clears  for 
preference)  to  marked  hens.  The  hens  breed  out  the  markings  quicker  than  the 
cocks.  In  the  course  of  time,  you  will  be  producing,  by  judicious  pairing,  more 
clears  and  ticked  than  heavy  marks,  and  still  have  retained  the  dark  blood.  Many 
of  the  best  clears  of  to-day  are  birds  that  possess  a  great  amount  of  dark  blood  in 
their  veins,  and  have  come  off  marked  parents ;  such  birds  when  colour-fed,  are 
ablaze  in  colour." 
VALUE  OF  GREEJ^S. 
Another  view  of  the  value  of  green  blood  is  given  by  Mr.  W.  Spillman,  of 
Devonport,  who  writes : — "  Colour,  the  once  all-absorbing  attraction  for  some 
judges,  is  to-day  generally  the  last  consideration.  There  are  greens  that  will  so 
improve  colour  that  when  colour-fed  the  birds  will  be  "  red  hot,"  and  there  are 
greens  that  are  simply  useless  for  the  purpose.  I  prefer  using  a  green,  or  almost 
green,  hen,  a  yellow  for  choice,  especially  if  she  is  bred  from  double-yellow  or 
variegated  parents.  You  get  almost  as  much  colour  from  the  green  hen  as  you 
do  from  the  cock,  and  a  great  deal  less  variegation.  I  have  frequently  had  nests 
of  almost  clears  from  heavily  marked  hens.  The  question  occurs  to  me  some- 
times :  How  much  marked  stock  is  it  wise  to  have  in  our  breeding  rooms  ?  I 
may  say  if  I  had  about  30  per  cent.  I  should  always  consider  myself  safe. 
Quality  may  be  introduced  by  the  Cinnamon,  but  it  is  a  course  I  should  never 
adopt.  You  are  forfeiting  type  and  stamina  to  a  marked  degree,  and  going  a 
roundabout  way  for  what  you  can  get  in  your  own  variety.  Show  birds  are  often 
the  finest  producers  of  quality,  and  the  hens  from  them  should  always  be  kept  in 
preference  to  those  coming  from  big  coarse  hens,  and  even  the  cocks  from  such 
