Page:The Illustrated Book of Canaries and Cage-Birds, British and Foreign.Djvu/289

Rh good form and merely irregular variegation, but superior form will count above anything in this class; thus giving an appreciable value to a fair attempt at technical marking in a mixed class, while superior form still remains the standard feature.

Points of Merit.

—Purity and brilliancy

Uniform distribution: back free from dark stripes; breast and under-surface of body even throughout; marginal edging of flights and tail-feathers bright green ...

—For Yorkshire properties generally

—Short and fine

—As dark as possible

—Health, and clean, sound feather

Total

Maximum.

50

Negative Properties.

A Green Yorkshire should not be of a dull shade of colour, neither should it show any tinge of yellow or bronze, nor should it lack lustre. It should not show dark stripes on the back, nor on the under-surface of the body or in any other place should there be any departure from the genuine character of the pure Green; neither should the marginal edging of the flights or tail be wanting in colour. It should not be small in size, slovenly in carriage, or loose in feather, nor should a good specimen have light-coloured legs.

Disqualification.

The presence of a white feather in any part of the body, or a decided "break" in the colour.

The above scale can be applied to any form whatever in which the Green Canary is found, by substituting for "Size, Shape, and Carriage" the characteristic features of the particular bird with which it is proposed to connect the colour. We have constructed it with colour as its base, and with so large a margin for individual character, in order that it may be so applied.