ALL ABOUT YOUR
Canary
“Frenchy” the famous Canary Pirate
PUBLISHED BY THE R. T. FRENCH COMPANY
ROCHESTER 9, NEW YORK
A Word to the Reader
At the turn of the century, the food business was in the “crackerbarrel” stage. Packaged foods were just beginning to make theirappearance in American grocery stores. It was during this periodthat Mr. George J. French developed the idea of marketing birdseed in packages.
Mr. French, then President of The R. T. French Company,had raised caged birds for many years as a hobby, and he knewthat a clean, dependable packaged bird food would be welcomedby canary lovers. The new product was an immediate success. Thesale of branded bird seed in packages brought Mr. French an increasingflood of letters from bird owners which he carefullyanswered himself.
In 1925, using the pen name “Bird,” he wrote the originalFrench’s Bird Book. As this latest version, “All About Your Canary,”is written, French’s Bird Seed and Biscuit—the pioneer in its field—isthe largest selling bird seed in America.
Copyright 1951 by
THE R. T. FRENCH COMPANY
Lithographed in U.S.A.
Canary Isles to Crystal Palace
Lying off the northwest coast ofAfrica are two small groups of islands,the Canary Islands and the Islands ofMadeira. These tiny specks of land arethe habitat of the little green finch,or wild canary.
The song of these canaries so appealedto sailors who visited the islandsthat quantities of the colorfulbirds were captured and carried backto Europe. By the early 16th century,these song birds were prized possessionsof many noblemen.
Today the sweet song of the canaryis enjoyed all over the world. In thepatient hands of breeders, the canaryhas evolved into many forms andcolors. By 1900 there were twenty-sevendistinct varieties and types ofcanary birds.
In Germany there is the famousRoller singing bird. There is also thepeculiar Dutch bird with all itsfeathers turned the wrong way, theround-shouldered Belgian and ScotchFancies, and the beautiful Englishbirds—the Lancashire Coppy withits great crest, the Yorkshire, the Norwich,and the Border Fancy. Some,like the London Fancy which hadexquisite orange and black markingson the head and tail, unfortunatelyare already extinct.
The British, who breed their birdsmainly for beauty of plumage andform, are among the greatest fanciersin the world. They have hundreds ofsocieties organized for the purpose ofperfecting particular types of birds.Regular shows are held all over theUnited Kingdom. Dozens of professionaljudges are required for the twolarge shows in the Royal HorticulturalHall, Westminster. In December 1948,hundreds of visitors were turned awayfrom the Crystal Palace for lack ofroom when the National Exhibitionstaged a record showing of 5430 birds.4A second huge exhibit at the CrystalPalace in early 1949 was also filledto capacity.
The majority of British fanciers areworking men who raise canari