open wire cage, with a very thin calico cover made to fit over it and tie down with strings at the bottom, as it answers all the requirements of the first-named cage, with the additional advantage of furnishing the occupant with more ventilation and fresh air.

CLASSES.-There are only two classes of this variety of canary, viz., jonques and mealies (yellows and buffs).

POINTS.-The chief features in the London Fancy canaries are their deep, bright, luxuriant plumage, their beautiful black wing-markings and black tails, and the fine, soft, silky appearance of their feathers. The jonque birds should be almost orange in tint throughout the body feathers, with a silvery luminous appearance pervading the outer surface; but this appearance, which is commonly called the " meal," is more conspicuous upon the buff birds, or "mealies," as they are usually termed.

In size these birds vary from 4in. to 54in. in length. The head should be large, and the cap broad and expansive, and very rich in colour and free from any admixture of grey, or spots of a dark colour; the neck rather short and thick; the chest broad and full; the back broad, and slightly curved outwardly; the legs short, and the position semi-erect. A great many of the London fanciers regard the body colour as of the first importance, and this is looked for more particularly on the crown of the head, or, as it is usually styled, the "cap;" also upon the breast and throat, which must be very fully developed, likewise upon the scapulars or shoulder blades, and the rump; the colour must be pure and brilliant, and as free from tinge or mottle as possible, and even and regular, more especially on the "cap" and breast; the wings and tails, too, are of great importance, and to produce them free from that dingy, dusky, grizzly-looking hue, is probably the most difficult task a breeder has to encounter, and hence I think that too little weight is frequently attached to this very important feature in a good bird. The large feathers in the wings, and also the tail feathers, should be as nearly jet black as they can be got, with a nice gloss upon them; they should be entirely free from

grizzle; a good saddle, too, is a very decided advantage, and improves the appearance of a bird immensely.

STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE.-The following standard gives the relative value of each point, one hundred being the maximum:

STANDARD FOR JUDGING LONDON FANCY CANARIES.

Points.

Colour, for intensity, brilliancy and regularity, more
particularly on head, breast, scapulars, and rump.. 35
Wings and tail, for depth of tone and brightness of
colour throughout, and also for formation..
Saddle, for fulness, shape, and colour

Size of bird, length, and stoutness

Contour and carriage

Quality and firmness of feather

Legs and underflue, for blackness
Throat, for expansiveness

Total..

25

10

7

7

5

4

100

JUDGING. In judging London Fancy canaries much care is needed, for they are a class of birds that can be wonderfully improved in the hands of skilful and unprincipled exhibitors.

The bird represented in our engraving is a fair specimen of the breed.

CHAPTER XXII.

THE BORDER FANCY.

THIS bird is also known by the name of the "Cumberland Fancy," and in some parts as the "Common Canary." It is an old variety regenerated and given a new name, but by careful cultivation and the admixture of foreign blood-such as Norwich and Yorkshire-it has been greatly improved, and is deserving of a better title than that of the "Common Canary."

The Border Fancy Canary is a small but rather neat-looking bird, light in build, short in length of body, and very tight in feather, which gives it a smart, bright, active, and compact appearance. It should be well-proportioned, and in fact look something like a diminutive specimen of a good Yorkshire canary. The head is small and round, with neat well-formed cheeks, as if chiselled; the beak should be small and slender, the neck thin, the back well filled and level in appearance, the chest neat and round, but not heavy looking; legs proportionate to the body, and to show very little thigh when standing in show position; the wings must be tight and closefitting to the body, level, and must meet at the tips; the tail must be neat, close, and compact, and somewhat round, resembling the shank of a pipe-not fish-tailed; length of bird, 54in. to 5 in.; position inclined to be more erect than otherwise, the head being elevated, and the line from back of head to tail should form a rather acute angle. The colour must be soft and delicate; artificial colour, produced by feeding during the process of the moult is altogether ignored

by the admirers of these birds. Good and robust health and fine condition are essential points in this variety.

me

There are clear and marked birds among the Border Fancy, but type and quality overrule markings, however perfect the latter may be; and, according to the rules of judging this variety, a bird possessing superior shape, feather, and style, would in a class for "any variety" of this breed, be placed before a perfect evenly-marked specimen which lacked in a marked degree the qualities named, and even in a class of marked birds, an unevenly-marked bird would not vie with an evenly-marked one on the same grounds-which to is rather enigmatical-as even-marking is more difficult to obtain by far than the features which the fanciers of these birds so much esteem. For instance, a bird with even wings and one eye-mark, or with two uneven eye-markings and one wing-mark, would be placed before a bird with evenly wellbalanced eye- and wing-markings, providing the contour and tout ensemble of the former somewhat exceeded the latter. This I consider rather hypercritical. Evenly- and unevenlymarked birds are, as a rule, shown in separate classes, and when exhibited together all the points should be separately considered, and full allowance made for markings as well as form and other properties.

This breed has evidently been originated by crossing the common German canary with the Norwich and Yorkshire fancy, selecting stock birds possessing the points sought after, and by careful and judicious breeding for a number of years the variety has been perfected.

The standard for judging may be summarised as follows:

Points.

Shape, style, and general contour

35

for soundness and silkiness in texture

Colour, for purity, softness, and delicacy; and feather;

15

Head and beak.

This breed is greatly esteemed on the borders of Scotland and Cumberland, and in the north and north-west of England generally; at Galashiels and Hawick, and in Carlisle, Whitehaven, and other border towns the best specimens are to be found. They are hardy and prolific birds, and well adapted to beginners in the bird fancy.