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Our  Canaries 
"  Pedi  gree  is  serviceable,  but  you  must  have  the  desired  qualities  there  with  it,  or 
in  the  majority  of  cases  you  will  be  disappointed  and  find  that  the  pedigree  you 
are  relying  upon  will  lie  dormant  and  the  long  line  of  pedigree  end  in  breeding  a 
room  full  of  '  singers.'  I  know  many  breeders  who  have  been  tempted  to  sell  their 
best  birds  for  a  good  price  thinking  that  because  they  had  the  same  blood  in  a 
brother  or  sister  it  would  serve  their  purpose  as  well  in  breeding  more  of  the  same 
quality  as  the  bird  sold.  It  is  one  of  the  greatest  mistakes  a  breeder  can  make, 
as  once  he  sells  his  very  best  birds  he  sells  his  one  chance  of  raising  his  stock  to  a 
higher  level.  He  may  have  a  room  full  of  brethren  and  sisters  but  the  master  key 
for  improving  type  is  gone." 
VARIED  EXPERIENCES. 
"  I  am  a  firm  believer  in  pedigree,"  writes  Mr.  J.  Bailey,  "and  whenever  I 
want  a  change  of  blood  I  always  go  where  I  have  sold  stock  to  get  it,  to  avoid 
mixing  up  of  strains.  Every  winner  I  have  shown  has  either  been  bred  by  me,  or 
bred  from  my  stock.  To  start  breeding  I  should  advise  a  yellow  or  buff  cock  and 
two  hens  to  match.  The  first  essential  feature  of  these  birds  should  be  type  ; 
secondly,  quality  ;  and  thirdly,  size.  Some  prefer  7I  inch  cocks  and  6I  inch  hens, 
but  I  would  much  prefer  6f  inch  cocks  and  6|  inch  hens.  These  birds  are  much 
easier  to  get  than  7I  inch  cocks,  and  if  you  get  6f  inch  cocks  and  6^  inch  hens  you 
have  both  good  position  and  quality.  The  longer  the  wings  the  better  ;  but,  above 
all,  try  to  avoid  broad-tailed  birds.  With  regard  to  sexual  influences,  I  find  in 
most  cases  it  all  depends  upon  the  condition  or  age  of  the  birds.  Thus,  if  I  had  a 
cock  with  bad  wing  carriage  I  should  mate  him  with  a  young  hen  full  of  condition 
and  extra  good  in  wing  carriage  ;  and  similarly  with  other  points.  I  have  proved 
this  many  times.  Only  last  season  I  had  a  marked  hen  mated  with  a  young  cock, 
which  produced  all  clears  in  the  first  nest.  I  worked  him  very  hard,  and  allowed 
him  to  feed  as  well  as  run  with  two  hens,  and  in  the  next  nest  three  of  the  young 
were  heavily  marked.    I  have  had  many  cases  of  this  kind  occur." 
YORKSHIRE  MARKINGS  DEFINED. 
A  few  words  of  explanation  of  the  terms  used  to  define  the  various  markings 
of  the  Yorkshire  Canary  will  be  useful  as  a  guide  to  the  novice  who  frequently 
fails  to  grasp  what  it  is  that  constitutes  a  ticked  or  uneven  marked  bird.  It  must 
be  remembered  that  so  far  as  the  Yorkshire  is  concerned  the  popular  terms 
"lightly  "  and  "  heavily  variegated  "  are  discarded  and  obsolete.  Although  every 
form  of  variegation,  both  in  green  and  cinnamon  colour,  is  to  be  found  in  the  breed 
the  whole  range  is  covered  by  the  terms  clear,  ticked,  unevenly-marked,  and  even- 
marked.  A  clear  bird  needs  no  further  description  than  that  its  plumage  should  be 
absolutely  free  from  marking  of  any  description,  however  small,  and  its  underflue 
should  also  be  quite  clear.  The  latter  point,  however,  is  given  some  law  provided 
no  suspicion  of  colour  is  shown  on  the  surface,  but  when  all  other  points  are  equal 
the  bird  with  the  clearest  flue  will  always  win  in  a  class  for  clears.    The  legs  and 
