Jmnajy 18, 1872. ] 



JOUBNAL OP HOETICULTURE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



G7 



from tlie harbour. Now a spick-aud-spau lofty spire, but not 

 the St. Mai-y EedcUffe that all the -world knew. Past Bridge 

 Street — so named, perhaps, because it does not lead straight to 

 the bridge, and past Broad Street — surely ironically so called, 

 for it is narrow indeed. 



Soon I reach the Eiile Drill Hall and hear its annual inhabi- 

 tants. I dare say the worthy and gallant Bristol Volunteers 

 would fight as well as their temporary guests, but they would 

 certainly crow less. Involuntarily I exclaim with the circus 

 clown of my yputh, " Here we are again." Not a refined ex- 

 clamation certainly, but it just describes one's feelings. All is 

 just the same — the Hall the same, the pens the same. There 

 comes Mr. Cambridge, the first to shake hands, looking just the 

 same ; there in his office pen in hand is Mr. Eou6, as he always 

 was ; there the rest of the Committee ; there in a glass case the 

 gorgeous silver cups, three different kinds ; there, not far off, is 

 Mr. Eodbard and other well-known Bristol breeders of Spanish. 

 But before going straight to the Pigeons let me compare last 

 year's Show with this. Last year 1300 pens, this year 1000 — 

 only 300 fewer, owing to the one-pound subscription required. 

 But "list, oh! list." Last year 440 exhibitors, this year only 

 167 — a falling-off owing to said pound of 273. But clearly many 

 exhibited under the name of one, as the comparatively small 

 difference in the number of pens shows. There was no rule 

 against this, so it was not absolutely unlawful, though not abso- 

 lutely correct. 



Now let me just say a word — a well-intentioned word — both 

 to the Committee and the exhibitors. It is not right that every 

 year a committee should lose money by a show. They give 

 time, often precious ; they give gi-eat labour, they show pluck 

 and energy ; but after all to have to put their hands into their 

 pockets and pay out heavy sums is — well, is too much to expect, 

 indeed what ought not to be. Perhaps, as the one-pound sub- 

 scription was so much objected to, a graduated scale would 

 answer and be less disliked ; say, for instance, the exhibitor of 

 one pen pay as entry money 15.^., of two pens lu.s., and then if 

 more than two a lower sum for each pen. Perhaps this plan 

 would answer. But no more of this, but to the far pleasauter 

 work of inspecting the Pigeons. 



Carriers (Blue or White). — The word white seemed to be un- 

 necessary, as no white birds appeared, but seven pens contested 

 for the cup, which was won by pen 846, containing a pair of 

 Mr. Tardley's birds, the cock too wide in the skull, and the blue 

 by no means free from a smoky tinge. Mr. Ord showed in pen 

 840 a well-matched p.air unnoticed. Mr. Fulton's (841), were a 

 grand pair and commended. Money prizes in this class there 

 were none. 



Carriers (Black or Dun). — Sixteen pens. First and cup, Mr. 

 Fulton's Black, he also second. Mr. Ord's Duns, pen 849, were 

 a nice pair, and the hen in his pen 854 was very good. Also 

 the hen in Mr. Maynard's commended pen was good. 



Fouler CocJts (Any colour). — This was deservedly marked " An 

 excellent class." The cup bird. Black Pied, is thicker than I 

 like. Mr. Dew's highly commended, pen 870, is a remarkably 

 neat bird, but the gem of the whole class was Mr. Fulton's very 

 highly commended Yellow Pied, which reminded me of the 

 Glasgow Yellows. 



Pouter Hens (Any colour). — First prize. Bed and somewhat 

 coarse. Mr. Gresham's very highly commended, a neat Blue 

 and better to my mind, and no doubt to his, than the bird with 

 which he won second. 



Almond Tumblers. — A good class, and very evenly good. 



Jacobins (-Ajiy colour).— The fault of this class was the height 

 of the hood from the head ; some looked, instead of neat and 

 close, ragged and wide. Mr. Haansbergen showed both a "nTiite 

 pair and also a Black pair, both a treat as to colouj-, and good 

 too. A treat as to colour, for the Beds were so predominant, 

 and the Whites were unusually good. 



Barbs (Any colour). — This was certainly a good class. Both 

 the first and second-prize birds were excellent, and must have 

 puzzled the Judges, but the very highly commended Duns were 

 to my mind as good as either, but their condition was against 

 them. I asked the Committee to let these birds as well as the 

 Carriers have saucers for their food, as they cannot see grains 

 of food on the ground. 



Fantails. — A good class. The cup-birds were dirty in the 

 extreme. The same owner, Mr. TardJey, showed a good pair of 

 Blues. Out of the ten pens six were noticed, and the first-prize 

 birds at Southampton and Wilts were unnoticed. This a proof 

 of the great merit of the class. 



Trumpeters. — Four pens only, and good ; but^ Mr. Horner's 

 second-prize birds I preferred to those of his which took first. 



English Owls. — Very few, and among them one pair, pen 927, 

 which were not English. In the first-prize pen the cock is the 

 best. 



Nuns. — Numerous. The first-prize birds well deserved their 



place, they were Mr. Homer's. Mr. Haansbergen had a pair of 



Yellows commended. It is pleasant to see that colour, as all 



the rest were Blacks. 



Turbits. — Surely in this class condition must have ruled the 



Judge's mind, as both prize pens contained long-faced birds. 

 Mr. Eoper's very highly commended were very good, also pen 

 No. 94.5. 



Tumblers (Any other variety). — Mr. Fielding's cup birds were 

 far from clean. The second-prize birds were real Black and 

 White, clean and good. 



Dragoons (Any colour). — A large and good class, there being 

 fourteen pens, and not Carrier-Hke, but thorough Dragoons. 

 The first prize. Blue ; second, YeUow, but not so good as the 

 same owner's pen. No. 974. But Mr. Graham may well be 

 proud of both pens. 



Antu-erps. — Marked "A very good class," but I own I am 

 utterly unable to see why they were so denominated, save, 

 perhaps, as they exhibited every variety of head, from the lean 

 and mousey, to the thick and Barb-Uke. There seems to mc to 

 need a standard shape in this class. The one figured in this 

 Journal, contributed by the Birmingham Colunibarian Society, 

 being evidently not followed. 



Ally other Distinct Variety. — A pretty pair of African Owls 

 first ; a pair of Maltese, more valued by the Judge than their 

 owner, as they were put at a low price, second. A very pretty 

 pair of Frillbacks were shown by Mr. Arkwright ; a well-matched 

 pair of Archangels by Mr. Yardley ; and a good pair of Bed 

 Magpies by Mr. Haansbergen. Also, I must notice a pretty pair 

 of Ice by Mr. Dawson. This is a class which deserves en- 

 couragement more than it gets, for to very many visitors it is 

 the most attractive of any, and I would there had been thirty 

 pens instead of ten. 



I do not know whether there is much to add. I would advise 

 the Committee to have cage birds next year. The late census 

 proved there were more ladies in proportion to gentlemen in 

 Clifton than in any other place in England, and ladies are pro- 

 verbial for their love of cage pets. I msntioned the advantage 

 in having the food in saucers, or better still, in tins, such as 

 contain water, as it would not be wasted by the birds; and 

 the heavy-wattled varieties would be sure not to starve. The 

 water-tins might also be hooked up higher, so that the water 

 would be kept purer. The Drill Hall is, as is well known, one 

 of the best exhibition-rooms in England, the Committee most 

 energetic and persevering, and I hope that every year they -n-iU 

 lose less and less, or better stUl, not lose at all. We, in the west 

 of England, could not do vrithout the Bristol Show, and may a 

 long reign of success be in store for it. — Wiltshire Eectoe. 



The new regulation put in force by our Committee had the 

 effect of thinning the ranks of Hamburgh exhibitors immensely, 

 as your readers will see by the annexed figures : — 



Pens in 

 1871. 187-2. 



Goia-srangled 89 .. 21 



Silver-Bpangled' 29 .. 11 



Gold-pencUled 47 .. 19 



SUver-penciUed 21 . . 16 



Blacks 14 .. 15 



About one-half the entries of last year. We missed the names 

 of the majority of our leading Hamburgh breeders. Buckley, 

 Ogden, May, Hyde, and Walters did not send their spangles ; 

 Mann, Pickles, and Ashton their Silver-pencils ; Preston, Tick- 

 ner, Speakman, and Smith their Golds ; nor Kilvert, Sidgwick, 

 and Marlor their Blacks. Hence the disappointment of Ham- 

 burgh breeders who visited the Show. 



If the entries were few, the quality as a whole was also very- 

 much below that of last year with one exception, the Black 

 Hamburgh cocks. Mr. Sergeantson's first and second-prize pens 

 contained unquestionably the best birds of the Show (I am 

 speaking of Hamburghs only). And why the cup allotted to 

 Pencilled and Blacks went to Mr. Parsons instead of Mr. Ser- 

 geantson is an enigma not easy to be solved, for the Golden 

 cockerel in point of tail, earlobes, carriage, and condition would 

 not bear comparison -with the Black. The rev. gentleman's 

 hens were very small, and gave me the melancholy foreboding 

 of a possibility of this new and beautiful variety dwindUng 

 do-wn to the level of Pencilleds in point of size. Pray, Messrs. 

 Judges, if you admire, and very properly, lustre of plumage, 

 neat comb, beautiful ears, and a sprightly carriage, do not forget 

 size ! In the Gold-pencilled cocks, the ingenuity of a TTorksbirs 

 exhibitor was somewhat freely commented upon. Every breeder 

 of this variety knows how to appreciate beautifully-arched 

 sickle feathers. What Nature here lacked Art supplied, the 

 barrel of the long sickle feathers of the cockerel in question 

 being very dexterously bent (a fi-iend of mine very wickedly 

 suggested with a curling iron), to give the desired sweep ! The 

 Gold-pencilleds throughout lacked the beautiful ground colour 

 which has been so often insisted upon, and justly so, in your 

 columns. In other respects the Pencilled hens -were fair as a 

 whole, and I was glad that the Judges recognised the value of 

 a penciBed breast, even at the expense of a cloudy hackle, by 

 giving the cup to Mr. Bloodworth's hens. The Silver-penciUed 

 cocks were the worst class in the Show ; whUe in the hens the 



