Our  Canaries 
utterly  disregard  distinctions  of  this  order.  In  the  few  cases  where  the  term  was 
formerly  of  some  value  as  indicating  the  particular  strain  of  some  noted  breeder, 
the  strain  has  long  since  disappeared,  and  in  other  cases  no  true  strain  ever  existed 
to  warrant  the  terms  being  so  employed. 
BREEDING    THE  ROLLER. 
One  of  the  greatest  mistakes  the  would-be  Roller  breeder  can  make  in  the 
beginning  is  to  suppose  that  any  sort  of  Roller  hen  will  do  to  mate  with  a  good 
pure  singing  Roller  cock.   It  is  most  essential  that  the  utmost  care  be  exercised  in 
the  selection  of  hens  that  come  of  a  good  pure 
singing  strain,  and  also  of  a  strain  bred  and 
trained  specially  for  the  type  of  song  possessed 
by  their  intended  mates.    Thus,  if  the  male 
birds  one  intends  starting  with  are  chiefly  dis- 
tinguished for  the  length,  purity  and  depth  of 
hollow  rolls,  the  hens  should  be  selected  from 
a  strain  specially  bred  for  and  proficient  in  this 
type  of  song,  and  similarly  if  the  cocks  are  of 
the  so-called  Seifert  or  St.  Andreasberg  type 
the  hens  should  be  chosen  from  the  highest 
class  songsters  of  this  type.    In  the  sense  in 
which  we  apply  the  latter  terms  they  may  be 
regarded    as    synonymous,    representing  the 
class  of  birds  which  are  trained  to  sing  a 
greater  number  of  different  tours  or  "  changes  "         a  type  oi  nest-box  used  in 
.  .     ^  .  ,  Germany  when  breeding 
m  pleasmg  musical  sequence  rather  than  a  Canaries  in  aviaries. 
repertoire  consisting    only    of   two  or  three 
immensely  long  and  deep  rolls.  Hens  coming  from  a  room  in  which  the  cocks 
develop  faulty,  harsh,  choppy  notes  should  be  avoided,  and  also  hens  which  have 
themselves  harsh,  unpleasant  call-notes,  or  which  make  attempts  at  singing,  and 
give  vent  to  harsh,  ugly  notes. 
On  the  other  hand  there  is  no  objection  to  breeding  with  a  hen  of  the  right 
strain  which  makes  more  or  less  successful  efforts  at  singing,  providing  her  voice 
is  soft  and  sweet  and  free  from  choppy  interjections.  The  Roller  breeder's  sole 
aim  must  be  rigorously  to  weed  out  and  suppress  from  breeding  and  training 
rooms  every  harsh,  unpleasing,  and  undesirable  sound. 
Do  not  imagine  that  the  most  successful  contest  winning  singers  will  neces- 
sarily produce  as  good  a  type  of  song  if  mated  with  moderate  hens.  On  the 
contrary  hens  that  are  bred  from  the  highest  class  of  singing  cocks  mated  with 
only  moderate  cocks  of  the  proper  strain  will  produce  better  songsters  than  a  first- 
class  cock  mated  with  a  moderate  hen.  The  hen  may  indeed  be  looked  upon 
as  the  prime  factor  in  producing  the  highest  type  of  songster,  yet,  notwithstand- 
