348 
Our  Canaries 
CHAPTER  XXV. 
THE  YORKSHIRE  CANARY. 
FOR  more  than  half  a  century  the  "  gentleman  of  the  fancy  "  as  the  Yorkshire 
has  often  been  termed  has  been  holding  its  own  on  the  show  bench,  and  is 
undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  stylish  birds  we  possess.  It  combines  in  perfection 
all  the  naturalness  of  the  plain  and  normally  shaped  and  feathered  breeds  with 
the  hypersensitiveness  and  nervy  action  and  graceful  poise  of  the  typical  "  birds 
of  position."  From  stem  to  stern,  in  nautical  phrase,  its  whole  appearance  and 
bearing  are  those  of  a  feathered  aristocrat ;  clothed  in  plumage  as  smooth  and 
trim  as  a  boxwood  model,  in  shape  as  straight  as  a  pencil,  in  pose  as  upright 
as  a  good  principle,  for  it  is  in  such  laudatory  terms  as  these  that  its  enthusiastic 
admirers  love  to  speak  of  the  Yorkshire. 
Writing  of  the  early  history  of  the  breed  that  popular  judge  Mr.  W.  Mundell 
says:  "  There  is  one  vital  point  I  would  impress  upon  the  beginner  in  the  Fancy, 
viz : — that  the  Yorkshire  is  a  made  breed — a  combination  of  crosses.  I  know 
many  will  differ  from  me,  but  the  fact  remains.  The  old  fanciers  in  the  6o's  used 
to  exhibit  the  longest  bird  they  could  lay  hands  upon  and  it  used  to  catch  the 
judge's  eye  and  get  first  prize.  They  were  called  Common  Canaries  in  those  days. 
Some  breeders,  seeing  that  length  was  required,  went  off  into  Lancashire  and 
selected  some  long  slim  plainheads  and  crossed  in  to  produce  length.  This  was  a 
very  wise  cross,  but  it  brought  out  the  birds  too  stout,  and  with  too  much  feather. 
To  remedy  this  the  boxy-feathered  Norwich  hen  was  introduced,  which  gave  a 
better  shape  and  produced  many  winners.  Still,  some  of  the  more  progressive 
fanciers  had  an  eye  for  position,  so  Belgian  blood  was  next  introduced,  which  gave 
not  only  the  desired  position  but  also  a  smaller  head,  and  brought  back  much  of 
the  former  slimness,  and  shorter  feathered  birds.  These  three  crosses  are  the 
foundation  on  which  stands  the  Yorkshire  Canary  of  the  present  day. 
A  JUDGE'S  ADVICE  TO  BEGINNERS. 
"  The  new  beginner  need  not  go  this  roundabout  way  to  build  up  a  strain. 
He  should  get  of  some  respectable  breeder  a  few  of  the  finest  hens,  showing  all 
Yorkshire  properties,  viz  :  nice  round  heads,  good  wing  carriage,  well  folded  tail, 
standing  on  neat  legs,  and  full  of  quality.  The  cocks  to  pair  with  these  hens 
should  be  of  good  length,  long  in  wings  and  tail,  standing  on  good  legs,  and  with 
nice  round  heads.  They  may  be  a  trifle  stout,  but  never  mind  if  you  have 
got  length  in  the  birds.  If  the  stock  begins  to  run  down,  cross  with  a  good 
quarter-bred  Belgian,  which  will  put  shape  and  nerve  into  the  hens,  and  also  give 
them  nice  wing  carriage.  One  should  always  have  on  hand  a  good  variegated 
bronze  or  rich  gold-coloured  hen  or  two,  which  will  not  only  enrich  the  colour  but 
