Our  Canaries 
345 
A    BREEDER'S  EXPERIENCE. 
In  writing  us  concerning  his  practical  experience  with  this  breed,  Mr.  J.  Little, 
of  Newcastle,  says  :  "  The  remark  one  sometime  hears  that  they  are  very  delicate, 
and  bad  feeders,  and  require  too  much  attention  for  any  working  man,  does  not 
agree  with  my  experience,  and  I  have  bred  them  over  28  years.  They  are  as  easy 
to  breed  as  any  other  variety,  and  will  feed  their  own  young,  as  the  following 
result  of  my  best  year's  breeding  will  prove.  I  had  no  feeders,  the  Scotch  Fancies 
having  to  rear  their  own  young,  and  from  six  pairs  I  reared  64  young  birds,  some 
of  which  took  first  prizes  at  some  of  the  leading  shows. 
"  It  requires  some  skill  in  mating  to  produce  show  birds.  Size  goes  a  long 
way,  but  size  without  other  good  qualities  has  to  take  a  back  seat  on  the  show 
bench.  Double-buffing  occasionally  is  a  good  way  to  get  size.  I  prefer  a  small 
hen  with  fine  head,  long  neck,  and  a  pair  of  good  legs,  paired  to  a  cock  as  large  as 
possible,  but  not  rough  in  feathers,  good  in  top  and  length  of  side,  and  free  tail. 
Be  very  careful  in  double-yellowing  or  you  may  get  them  on  the  small  side,  and 
they  are  apt  to  run  too  thin,  but  if  the  birds  are  getting  too  rough  in  feather  it 
will  reduce  it." 
ITS  NERVE  AND  POSITION. 
"  The  Scotch  Fancy,"  writes  Mr.  John  McLennan,  of  Edinburgh,  "should 
be  a  bird  of  large  and  handsome  proportions,  showing  massiveness  without  coarse- 
ness—a nervy  grace  and  sprightly  movement  of  nerve  and  jauntiness  found  in  no 
other  member  of  the  race.  Its  position  when  in  the  show  cage  is  perfectly  per- 
pendicular upon  the  perch ;  a  drooping  forward,  or,  as  it  is  termed,  '  over  the 
perch '  position  cannot  be  tolerated.  Many  good  birds  are  ruined  as  show  speci- 
mens by  this  fault.  The  shoulder  is  the  next  great  point  striven  after.  This,  in  a 
show  specimen,  must  be  very  prominent,  stuck  well  up  above  the  body,  and  in  a 
yellow  bird  showing  a  distinctive  and  square  formation  on  the  top,  with  no  hollow 
between  shoulders  and  the  feather  inclined  to  be  full  instead  of  otherwise.  A  bird 
of  high-strung  nerve  and  temperament  it  must  be  handled  with  the  greatest  care  and 
gentleness.  Very  little  '  travelling  '  should  be  demanded  of  it  in  judging— one 
or  two  turns  from  perch  to  perch  being  sufficient  to  show  the  bird's  soundness  in 
feet  and  legs,  and  until  steadied  on  one  perch  and  gently  coaxed  into  position  the 
best  qualities  of  the  bird  cannot  be  discovered." 
POINTS  ABOUT  MATING  AND  TRAINING. 
We  have  culled  the  followihg  salient  points  upon  the  judicious  mating  and 
training  for  show  of  this  variety  from  a  paper  contributed  by  Mr.  R.  G.  Joliffe,  of 
Glasgow.  "  Size  is  a  great  feature  of  the  Scotch  Fancy,  and  ordinary  specimens 
should  measure  from  6  inches  to  7J  inches  in  length,  or  even  8  inches,  from  the 
point  of  bill  to  tip  of  the  tail,  but  few  may  be  found  to  exceed  7  inches,  which  may 
be  accepted  as  the  average  size.  In  pairing  for  colour  the  usual  way  is  to  mate 
yellow  with  buff,  but  it  is  not  unusual  for  two  buffs  to  be  mated  together  with  the 
