THE BIRD WORLD. 
An Interview 
and a Moral. 
(146) 
and I have never looked behind since. I have 
never bought a winner, but always bred them, 
though I have sold plenty that have done well 
for their new owners.” 
“ How do you account for what I may call 
the marvellous condition of your birds—those, I 
mean, of two, three, and four years old?” 
“ Cleanliness and great care during the breeding 
season are the main factors,” came the reply. 
“I never,” added Mr. S., “allow my best cocks 
to do any feeding, and always limit the nests 
I take from my best stock to two per season.” 
Here, I thought, is a tip for the young fancier. 
Nurse your best stock, reserve their strength, 
and the result will be healthier offspring, full of 
virility and a longer career on the show bench. 
Restraint is the watchword in this bird-room. 
“ In your opinion, Mr. Spencer, how does the 
modern Yorkshire compare with those of your 
earlier days?” “There’s no comparison,” came 
the reply. “The bird of to-day is miles in front 
of those of even a few years ago, and improve¬ 
ment is marked every season.” 
“Then things look hopeful for the ‘ Yorkshire 
Fancy ’ ? ” “ Never more so,” was the instant 
answer; “ and let me add, as a result of years 
of observation and a knowledge of the fanciers 
of the day, that improvement in the Yorkshire 
Canary has not yet reached the high-water 
mark. The fancy Press—a thing unknown in 
my younger days—the really lucid and practical 
method of bird journalism has made it possible 
for a keen bird lover to acquire a working know¬ 
ledge to-day in an incredibly short time. Shows 
are plentiful, and, so to speak, at one’s door. 
The young fancier of to-day will be the cham¬ 
pion of to-morrow. His way is a pleasant one, 
far different from the strenuous time when miles 
had to be covered if one was to enjoy a bit of 
birdy chat with a fancier who would part with a 
little of his hard-earned knowledge.” 
“ Before saying good-bye, Mr. Spencer, will 
you be good enough to give me some data as to 
the most desirable way of introducing quality 
and its accompaniment colour into a strain where 
type is already fixed?” “With pleasure,” re¬ 
plied my genial host. “ A cinnamon ticked or 
marked hen or two and a couple of heavily 
variegated (green) cocks should be in every 
breeder’s room. They are, in my judgment, 
necessary—the one for feather, the other to keep 
the colour up.” 
“Shortly, then, Mr. S., your advice to the 
young fancier is : Start with the best stock pos¬ 
sible, mark the results, and carefully introduce 
foreign blood, if it is necessary, but in a ten¬ 
tative way?” “Well, yes,” was the reply. 
“ With three or four pair of birds the intelligent 
fancier can build up a strain, and little occasion 
will arise for going outside his own stock for 
change of blood. And I would advise,” added 
Mr. Spencer, “ put your birds in competition with 
the best, attend the shows. But ”—and he laid 
great stress on the “ but ”—“ have your own ideal. 
There is plenty of latitude in the standard, and 
the fancier who stamps a certain individuality 
upon his stock is certain of recognition.” 
Twenty minutes to train time and a good mile 
up hill to the station precluded further pleasant 
talk, so a hearty adieu and off. 
Photo copyright. [IV. S. Berridge. 
The Flamingoes in Three Island Pond at the Zoological Gardens. 
