Our  Canaries  335 
One  heard  very  little  of  large  heads  and  thick  necks  in  those  days.  I  remember 
Mr.  John  Williams,  of  Liverpool,  paying  me  a  visit  in  the  70's.  I  had  bred  that 
year  a  number  of  greens  and  broken  greens,  and  he  was  so  pleased  with  them  that 
he  bought  all  the  hens  I  would  let  him  have,  and  for  several  years  afterwards 
applied  for  all  the  hens  I  could  spare.  Mr.  Williams  told  me  many  a  time  that 
those  hens  had  a  great  deal  to  do  with  building  up  what  was  known  in  the  early 
8o's  as  the  Liverpool  and  Prescot  Norwich,  and  fanciers  living  to-day  know  what 
it  was  to  rub  against  them.  Every  feather  that  Mr.  Williams  bought  of  me  had 
Lizard  blood  in  it,  more  or  less."  Thus  it  is  evident  that  in  those  early  days 
when  the  pure  Norwich  was  a  decidedly  smaller  and  tighter  feathered  bird  than 
the  present  type  the  Lizard  was  usefully  employed  by  Norwich  breeders.  But 
with  our  present  type  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  loss  of  size  that  must  accrue  would 
in  any  circumstances  make  the  introduction  worth  attempting. 
BREEDING   FOR   TYPE   AND  QUALITY. 
"  When  mating  up,"  writes  Mr.  Thos.  Dixon,  of  Bedlington  Station,  "  I  like 
to  have  a  medium  sized  hen,  as  I  have  found  large,  bulky,  hens  very  bad  layers 
and  feeders.  The  cock  must  have  plenty  of  size,  good  carriage,  and  be  as  full  of 
Norwich  character  as  possible.  I  invariably  have  one  bird  of  each  pair  with 
marked  blood.  I  am  not  partial  to  double-buffing  or  double-yellowing  as  I  do  not 
see  any  great  advantage  gained  by  so  doing.  The  stock  from  double-buffs  has  a 
tendency  to  throw  heavy  feather  about  the  thighs, — and  with  the  increased  size 
they  often  possess  the  fault  of  long  wings  and  tail." 
This  is  also  pointed  out  in  the  following  notes  by  Mr.  A.  G.  Cameron,  of 
Kelso.  "Never  pair  together  two  birds,"  he  says,  "  having  long  tails  and  long  flights, 
or  loose  feathered  specimens.  Get  them  with  wide  chest,  good  shaped  body, 
thick  and  chubby  neck,  a  good  wide  round  skull,  and  short  all  over — including 
feathers.  The  position  of  the  legs  is  a  great  point  to  keep  in  view  when  mating. 
They  should  be  placed  as  far  behind  as  possible  in  one  or  both  parents.  Size  and 
feather  could  be  tolerated  in  male  birds,  provided  you  have  suitable  hens  and 
that  they  are  of  good  colour.  Drop-tailed  and  narrow-headed  cocks  should  be 
avoided,  and  also  birds  which  crouch  on  the  perch  and  will  not  stand  up,  as  these 
faults  are  generally  transmitted  to  the  young." 
Messrs.  J.  and  J.  Hopkins,  of  Bolton,  contribute  some  pointed  remarks  upon 
the  mating  of  birds  with  a  view  to  improving  type,  quality  and  colour  : — "  Now- 
a-days  the  best  breeders  are  fully  aware  of  the  fact  that  to  breed  a  good  even 
stamp  of  bird,  type  must  be  as  far  as  possible  on  both  sides,  and  consequently 
there  is  a  corresponding  increase  in  the  number  of  real  typical  specimens  seen  on 
the  show  bench  to-day.  The  principal  method  of  gaining  size  is  double-buffing. 
By  double-buffing  the  size  is  increased  without  the  length  being  affected  and  the 
birds  are  much  thicker  and  heavier  than  by  resorting  to  the  Crest-bred  cross,  and 
are  a  great  deal  shorter  and  possess  shorter  and  more  compact  feather.  Extreme 
