|
Jonque
Cock, Mealy Youngster and Mealy Hen,
by W. Rutledge -1870s (?)
The above lithograph
still uses the old terms for yellow and buff, namely 'Jonque' and 'Mealy'.
The word 'jonque' is obviously
derived from the French 'jonquil' meaning yellow - perhaps hinting at the
origins of this variety as being in France. The term 'jonque' was widely
used in the mining towns of England to mean yellow- in relation to canaries;
I knew a miner in 1964 in St. Helens who still referred to his birds as
'jonque'.