CHAPTER XV.

THE CINNAMON CRESTED.

THERE is probably no member of the British Canaria family more interesting than this, and I am pleased to find that the variety is coming more into favour every year, and that classes are now provided for it at all our best shows. The reason for this breed not being so popular as the Norwich Crests is that good specimens are more difficult to obtain, and require a much longer time to bring them to a state of perfection. I bred the first specimen of this variety that I ever saw, some thirty-six years ago, but it is quite possible that someone may have bred them before me.

I have also been fortunate enough to breed some of the best specimens of this variety that I have ever seen, and one of these, a young cock, evenly-marked and crested, which I sold to a Mr. Hillyer, of Leicester, took, amongst other honours, first prize at the Aquarium Show in London, and also first prize at the Crystal Palace, at Sydenham, and he is the only male bird I have seen that approached anything like perfection.

His mother was a Cinnamon variegated plain-head, bred from a green hen, the produce of a pure well-bred Cinnamon hen and a crested-bred Norwich cock. His father was an evenmarked and Crested Norwich bird, whose mother was bred between a Cinnamon canary and a Lancashire Coppy. The crested blood in him was all of high-class quality.

There is no difficulty in breeding Cinnamon crests, especially self colours. Put a Cinnamon cock bred for a few generations

from pure Cinnamons with an evenly-marked and crested Norwich hen of good quality; at the same time put another Cinnamon cock with a good pure Lancashire crested hen, and select from these pairs the best of the crested and plain-head youngsters, picking out all those that have pink eyes or are Cinnamon variegated, and mating them with pure greens, as some of the progeny are sure to be. Be sure to select and keep the best of the crested birds. The following year keep the best crests and those that show the best Cinnamon qualities, and cross them with Yorkshire Cinnamons, as these birds inherit a lot of Coppy blood, and it will help you to get size and crest, the latter being the most difficult thing to obtain, as the admixture of Cinnamon blood tends to shorten the crest, and this is the greatest difficulty you will have to

overcome.

If you prefer the self-coloured Cinnamons, select the greens or heaviest variegated from one pair, and run them with the self Cinnamons or heaviest variegated Cinnamons bred from the other pair, selecting as a matter of course, one a plainhead and the other a crest; from the later cross select the best-crested birds, and mate them with pure bred Yorkshire Cinnamons the following year, and so on, going back to the crested Norwich and Cinnamon alternately as required for the improvement of crest and colour. But if you prefer to breed evenly-marked and crested Cinnamons, which are by far the handsomest birds of this variety, instead of whole Cinnamons, select the best of the Cinnamon variegated plain-heads, and put with them marked and crested Norwich birds for first cross; from the produce of these choose the best of the crested birds, and pair again with the best of the Cinnamons variegated, the produce of the other pairs. Choose hens with Cinnamon marked wings and caps, or the nearest approach to such. In the following year you must exercise your judg ment in selecting birds bred from the pairs named, and if you succeed in breeding any evenly-marked and crested, which you ought to do with ordinary luck, keep them, and pair with hens or cocks closely related to them, and in a

few years you will be enabled to breed them more frequently. Of course, you will breed birds at first that are not what you require, these must be discarded, and sold for what they will bring in the market. You may pair brothers and sisters or first cousins, but do not continue this in-breeding too long, or the birds will deteriorate in size and feather.

In selecting Cinnamons for these operations you must have large birds, with plenty of substance and good broad skulls, and if they have heavy eye-brows, so much the better, as the greatest difficulty you will experience will be to get large. well-formed crests, as the admixture of the Cinnamon blood most undoubtedly has a tendency to circumscribe the crest; therefore, to breed a really well-crested Cinnamon variegated bird you want no more Cinnamon in its composition than will give the required colour. On the other hand, if you pursue the improvement in crest too far you are apt to sacrifice the colour; it requires patience, perseverance, and sound judgment to obtain what you really want, but when you succeed you will be well repaid for all your trouble, for a good bird of this variety can always command a good price and plenty of customers, and there is a more open field for obtaining success than there is in breeding Norwich crests, where you have thousands of breeders to contend against, whereas the breeders of crest Cinnamons are confined to comparatively few. In a few years these classes will be extended, and the demand for them will increase accordingly. These birds should be bred and judged by the same methods and standards as are applied to the crested Norwich canaries.

CHAPTER XVI.

THE EVENLY-MARKED CINNAMON.

Of late years

THESE birds are shown in the "Any other variety class," and are generally of the Yorkshire type of bird. some very handsome specimens have been exhibited, and with great success. They can be produced by careful breeding and selection between the plain-head Cinnamons and the Lancashire Coppies. Some go for the Yorkshire type, and in this case long thin Lancashires should be used for crossing purposes; others prefer them with more substance, and use stouter and fuller-bodied birds. The great thing is to get them well and evenly-marked, and to obtain this it will be necessary to cross with the evenly-marked Yorkshire birds. I also advise readers to follow the plan recommended for breeding evenly. marked Norwich canaries, and also to resort occasionally to in-breeding to fully establish the essential points required, i.e., size, colour, markings, feather, and shape.

CHAPTER XVII.

THE NORWICH FANCY.

ORIGIN.-The Norwich Fancy canaries doubtless owe their existence as a distinct variety to the town of Norwich, and have derived their origin, I believe, from crossing the London Fancy or Lizard canaries with the common stock; and by further judicious pairing, feeding, and careful moulting they have ultimately attained that exquisite colour for which they are so widely famed.

The method of breeding and rearing clear Norwich, in order to produce and retain their rich dazzling plumage throughout the show season, was held in such profound secrecy among the breeders and exhibitors in Norwich at one time that it was publicly asserted by a gentleman of position, then in the "fancy," that one hundred pounds would not extract the secret of obtaining the high colour in these birds and the genuine process of crossing them and moulting them in order to obtain perfection, at least so far as it was then known. Without doubt, there was a wonderful amount of freemasonry existing among the craft in Norwich some years ago, and they kept their secrets remarkably well; but the bubble burst at last, to the chagrin of many, I dare say, and the secret of high colour became common property.

VARIETIES. Of the Norwich Fancy canaries there are the clears, the evenly marked, the ticked, the unevenly-marked, the green, and the crested varieties.

The Clear birds have hitherto been held in considerable