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Our  Canaries 
headed  bird  with  an  exceptionally  neat  beak,  which  has  the  least  possible  taint  of 
these  faults  in  its  pedigree.  A  thin  neck  is  a  very  common  fault  in  Yorkshires,  and 
may  often  be  remedied  by  a  double-buff  mating,  or  by  mating  with  a  good  stout- 
necked  bird  bred  from  double-buffs.  Slovenly  wing  carriage  and  crossed  wings 
should  be  mated  with  well-braced  and  neatly  carried  wings  on  a  bird  in  which  a 
dash  of  Belgian  blood  runs.  Frilled  breasts,  and  to  a  less  degree  also  frills  around 
thighs,  are  the  result  of  a  superfluity  of  feather,  and  should  be  mated  with  the 
shortest  and  neatest-feathered  birds  available.  Short  and  tight  feather  should  in- 
deed be  made  a  sine  qua  non  of  the  Yorkshire  breeder.  Breast  frills  also  are  not 
infrequently  very  persistent  in  appearing  in  the  progeny  of  a  bird  possessing  them, 
so  that  this  type  of  bird  should  be  weeded  out  whenever  circumstances  will  permit. 
Slight  thigh  frills  may  appear  when  a  bird  is  merely  a  little  out  of  condition,  and 
are  then  much  less  objectionable  than  a  breast  frill.  Albeit  such  birds  should  be 
mated  with  those  having  very  neat  waists,  nicely  tapered  thighs  and  tail  coverts, 
and  short  tight  feather.  Short  legs,  which  give  the  bird  a  squat  appearance,  may 
also  be  corrected  with  specimens  well  up  on  leg  and  having  a  little  Belgian  blood. 
THE  VALUE  OF  LENGTH. 
In  stock  birds,  size — i.e.  length,  but  not  overmuch  stoutness- — should  always 
be  kept  well  up  to  the  standard.  It  is  bad  policy  to  mate  together  two  birds  on 
the  small  side  in  practically  any  circumstances.  Stock  birds  well  up  to  the 
standard  length,  or  even  a  little  over  it,  will  invariably  give  the  best  results,  as  it 
will  be  found  easier  to  breed  down  to  the  standard  size  than  to  breed  upwards  to  it 
from  undersized  birds. 
MEASURING  THE  LENGTH. 
This  length  question  is  by  no  means  an  easy  one  to  ascertain  in  actual 
practice,  as  scarcely  two  persons  would  measure  a  bird  to  show  precisely  the  same 
length.  One  person  may  measure  a  bird  to  be  just  about  the  proper  length  of 
6f  ins.,  and  another  immediately  shows  it  to  be  well  over  7  in.  This  uncertainty 
has  more  than  once  given  rise  to  trouble  in  the  exhibition  world  by  causing  birds 
to  be  passed  for  being  over  the  standard  length.  In  selecting  stock  birds  it  is,  of 
course,  quite  unnecessary  to  go  around  and  measure  all  the  birds.  A  rough 
estimate  of  length  from  looking  at  the  birds  in  their  cages  is  sufficient,  as  a  matter 
of  a  quarter  or  half  an  inch  on  the  large  side  is  quite  immaterial  except  in  being 
an  invaluable  aid  in  breeding  show  birds  well  up  to  standard  length. 
Still  there  are  times  when  a  breeder  will  wish  to  ascertain  more  closely  the 
exact  length  of  a  given  bird  for  various  reasons,  and  for  the  benefit  of  such  we  are 
able  to  give,  with  the  kind  permission  of  Mr.  Thos.  Heath,  the  inventor,  illustra- 
tions of  a  little  machine  designed  by  him  in  the  8o's  when  exhibiting  Yorkshires, 
which  enables  one  to  measure  a  bird  with  great  ease  and  exactitude,  and  practically 
does  away  with  the  inconsistency  of  different  persons  obtaining  different  lengths 
