JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE G.'OIPENEB. 



[ February 22, 1872. 



CUSS, to wMc. I a.a.aed the fi.t p.i.e one of tUe n^os^^^^^^ 



pxesent, and said to me in a friendly ^y, "Have you not mad^ ^LSJd ^Thlt I ^U Some to now, and it is the niost senous 



and upon ^oing so he snnp^y sa d, J-,-^f f^'^ Show was was a mistake for me even to have put them on the stages. 



ThTs Mrd an oljec? oTattraction and cm-iosity , for the meal o..r thmk i was ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ important part 



Ihecolour was something remarkahle. . On the ^»-Jj^-y °^ of^mltte"' ™Ihe close of the Show I suhmitted the sus^ 



'''' f"i^ il^^fo — waf -roTtleXf^'' ttTwaTso'sa^isfie'd plcted hirds to a. sMUed analgical c^-f ; -d *e -f ^t^of^a 



Ih^outtaufwas^osupported hythe opinions expressed, that on two days r^cl'^^^^^pfg^l'^foTfore^gL colouring matterwhat 

 m^ return home I wrote to the person m f l^"';'' """^ * ^",t ever I kuow also that they have been tried m many ways by 



IC Onl le terled to another, audin course of coi-responden e g^t^^f^^^^^^^^^^^'i^^^l^^'eCmendedhy the Judges at Sydenham^ 



he said some of these birds had been thrown out at ,,but (^'^"^g'ire 'clear Buff was ignored. I can conceive the possibihty 



^hatthe cTmmittee had been over, af ^"P- fnrthejXThad t^" fnf ab^e ?o stain a ylUow bird but by -^at-P-^^i"* 



s h^^s^h^di^Si^ ?:?S^?'?l^r ?fkn^b^ ^^e i^^^^^r^B 



^existence of these birds, and my acquaintance ^''^l t'^^™^"'^°| Z^id they show a mealy edge. It is a "^^PV^tif "A*" ?Pur <;^ 



limited to the single ^Peeimen I had seen at Che tenham, and „„ ^ ^i^ie large feather ; but bearing in mmd that the colou^ on 



the plausible statement made by ^^^^ P^ * ^"^^"^.^^^ ^ ^^^^ the.sma'u feather of .a Canaryhe^on he e.t reimty of^^e we^^^^ 

 And now for tlie Bto>7 of my exhibiting them, f-" I have 



And now for tne siory oi m> c-v,i...,..^„ .•^— •- 

 ^cted as Judge I have never been an exhibitor, and .onl> once 

 bflve I ever iud-ed over a bird which had been previously my 

 have -L «^" J?V-o!!' "^__.ji„re But a knot of fanciers who con- 

 Ste^ie of alodest clubs in this to.-n projected a show for 

 Chri toa, week, and from their rules and regulations expunged 

 the 60," ^^property clause. I have always maintamed this 

 rule is sound m principle, but a majonty of the Commttee oi 

 Xp old Sunderiand Ornithological Society thinking it was pre- 



ulic fl Tn nfa tion, eliminated it from their tbirteenth annual 

 T?^ibition The "fancy " is not young here. On consultmg 

 fhf SecretaiT I found the rule was omitted purposely, under I 

 *he beUef thlt it would assist the entries, or, at least, enable 



■^Bks^z:^of'sa^'^^:dS:,^i^fr?hS^^^^ 



Indttie remainder before dayUght on the mommg of the Show^ 



SrsucUneve^ 



'alt ?ny feflec tiJn on what^wS, perhaps, a kind intention 

 mien I got a good look at them, I told one of the Committee 

 ^o^'^^af Pe-nal friend of^^mine and w;ho had seen the 



the smaU feather ot a (Janary ues uu >.^^ ',;„-;;, ^Viite and 

 which in a Mealy bird is edged with a t^^ «" ^athere and the 

 further, that it is the close overiappmg of the eathers ana tne 

 nroiectingof the edges like the scales of a fish, only in a less 

 flepee!wMch produce a uniform shade, it must ^e riext do^r to 

 an impossibility to colour the entire ^l^-^^f « °* ^,^"iL\Se^dfe 

 and then discharge the colourmg matter from the extreme edg._ 

 of the feathers in such a way as to produce the mealy appear 



easy of solution. 



pMal in his pocket, and shaking it up assures JO". J^f fXaSi 

 ?Wd annarently diving into the mysterious recesses of his brain, 

 anrthe^oSerwdnking at some familiar far-off in Bpace that 



^:\'^i ^eSZllriend ^ mi^^ ^o ha.^ the -^^^l^a^-e'^SSi^^ |^ ^-^yj;---^ ^- 

 ^hole of the correspondence tia ^, tt-„t'L'^t te'ftat ther'e cleverer and more enterpnsing than h.s£eUowvntoe^^^^^^^^ ^ 



JetrneTs%TSiri^Sds I^-^urrik^loVele^ 

 fniVht be a thorough examination. However, they apparently 

 fawno reasonto £squaUfy them, and the Clear Jonque stood 

 firTt^n its class, and one of the Variegated Jonques first m its 

 riass the Buff birds coming-in for a share of commendations. 

 But one of the rules (one which I wrote for our own Society, 

 and which I little dreamt would first be apphed in my own 

 caserstLted that if clear proof be given that any bird has been 

 frauhdent y dealt with, the Judge's decision shall be ?^U and 

 ToTd Sd I think it is a good rule, for there are cases in which , 

 no mortal eve can detect a fraud, such as the extraction of a 

 ?hi™e darkiather from the head or back, or any other part 

 wM h woiid convert a Ticked bird, a Mule for >^=tance, int^ a 

 Clear one a transformation the value of whichis gi-eat. Acting | 

 <;n this liie the Committee subjected these birds to an ordeal m 

 Thich^i think, their zeal rather outran their l^^gment and m 

 Twav which was hardly constitutional, inasmuch as I was not 

 mldJ^are Tf what was going on, and only anrived at a know- 

 Sd»e ofthe fact from finding the Clear Jonque with a aJ such 

 is is not usually found on a bird, and being presented with a 

 handkerchief which was aUeged to contain colouring matter 

 Stotcted from the deUnquent specimens. As for the e^stencc 



?»s^^fn^^^^ep:^r^rs^s;is^^^^ 



^Sr^rd Xe eTtrr^risrngrhan hi^- ^eUf- -nt^es t^ in 

 *^^V'e^^.t1/pluSa'n'^^^^^^^ 



