35i 



JOUBN-AL OF H0.1TICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDEHEE. 



[ April 23, 1872. 



excepted) had been aUowed to degenerate c^"*"'?, •^l'",'^"'"^ 

 so as to become almost .^•o.•t.hless in a '^°«\'»"-"f,,fZ!£'^a^ 

 pointof view. Fowls were merely tolerated upon the farm to act 

 as scavengers, and Uving as best tbey <=ould, rather than be^n 

 kept with any idea that a profit might be '•'^'^l^fl^J *f;";,^tw 

 trifle that i3\-eaUsed from the ponl ry y'^,^'i, ^f.^ ^'^^J'^^tTn 

 ledeed perquisite of the farmer's wife or daughtei, and not m 

 invwav considered pai-t or parcel of the master's stock or pro- 

 SJIrlrany way worthy of Ms notice. The farmer painly 

 saw his fowls consumed a quantity of his gram, and that he, 

 inS^naUy, reaped no profit by their presence, and Uttle 

 wonder that he should have come to the conclusion for amcklj 

 Tmes such knowledge) that " fowls don't pay." WeU, as I sad 

 before the tens of thousands who attend our shows, and the 

 presence of the magnificent specimens of poultry to be seen ex- 

 E bUed, would lead the casual observer to teheve there was 

 little room for improving our yards, or necessity for stimulating 

 increased attention to the production of eggs and poultiy , but 

 the startling fact that we annuaUy import into this country no 

 less than 500,000,000 of eggs, to say nothing of the tons of poul- 

 ti-y, shows us at once how utterly erroneous such an impression 



"^Whatever we have to pride ourselves upon as a nation, it cer- 

 tainly is not the quaUty or quantity of our poultry, and as long 

 ;T we continue to look abroad for this stupendous supply 

 (500,000,000), the less we say about our poultry or poultry shows 

 the better. That poultry shows are iisef ul I think nobody will 

 deny, inasmuch as they tend to stimulate an mcreased interest 

 in the keeping of good poultry, and encom-age the breeding ot 

 the best and most profitable stock. It is however, one thing to 

 have a valuable article within youi- reach, and another to mate 

 use of it and profit by it. It is a comparatively easy task for our 

 amateurs and poultry fanciers to introduce into this country Hom 

 abroad the most valued breeds of foreign fowls, and exhibit them 

 at our shows, but quite another matter, and a far more diflicult 

 one, to revolutionise the poultiT yards of the million— tne 

 400,000 farmsteads of England— by inducing them to introduce 

 4hese " new-fangled " birds. To import and breed a suflicient 

 stock for the desired improvement of the countiy is the work 

 <,nly of a few years, but to induce the argncultural population ol 

 the country to improve their stock by the introduction of fresh 

 blood wiU be the work of many. Kot untU this desired end is 

 gained can we hope for any great change in the home production 

 Sf eggs and poultry, or the pubUc be benefited by the increased 

 ouantity and improved quality. . 



Although I am ready to admit that the farming classes of this 

 <!Ounti-y are fully aUve to their own interests, when it can be 

 shown to them by practical and ocular demonsti'ation, that by 

 making a change they wiU increase their profit ; yet it cannot 

 be denied but that this important branch of ou: commumty are, 

 in every sense of the word "conservative," and wiU make no 

 change unless iiTesistible proof is forthcoming to prove the im- 

 portaJice of that change in a pecuniary and commercial point ol 

 view Now, when we consider that poultry generally, and fowls 

 in particular, have for centuries been looked upon Tvith dis- 

 favour in a pecuniary sense, and the acknowledged idea that 

 fowls " don't pay," has been handed down from generation to 

 generation, it is not surprising that no very marked change has 

 yet taken place in the improvement of the breed, or increased 

 number of fowls in the farmsteads and cottage runs throughout 

 the country. This change, as I said before, must be a gradual 

 one, and can only be brought about by degrees, and by the 

 presence of these more valuable and profitable birds becoming 

 scattered throughout the country, and the example and success 

 of those fanciers who are now yearly increasmg, and may now 

 be found located in almost every district. 



Apart from the inherited prejudice which exists against fowls, 

 and the objections asainst newly-introduced breeds, there is 

 another cause why so little improvement has taken place m the 

 breed of farmyard poultry, and it is this. Until within the last 

 year or so the prices asked by the breeders of the best stock for 

 really good birds has been so exorbitant as to preclude the 

 farming and cottage classes from purchasin|, however much 

 they might be inclined to improve the stock; also the price 

 asked for eggs for hatching has been such as to draw a smile or 

 •" wish you may get it " from the astonished applicant, who had 

 hoped to secure a sitting of eggs for Is., instead of the 15s. or 

 20s. asked. It is no uncommon circumstance even now for good 

 prize birds to command from £5 to ilO each, the price of a 

 couple of sheep or a bacon pig; and a dozen of eggs for hatching 

 for prize birds often command a guinea to 30s. ; and it was but 

 a year or two ago diflicult to purchase at a more reasonable 

 price. But a change has now taken place in this respect, owing 

 to the very large number of prize-poultry breeders that have 

 sprung up, and created that most wholesome of all influences- 

 competition; so that now really first-class birds and eggs for 

 hatching can be obtained at a really moderate figure ; indeed, 

 at a far more moderate price, considering their real intrinsic 

 value, than what you would have to pay for common barndoor 

 fowl eggs. Good stock birds are now to be had at 7s. &d. to 10s. 



ea-h and this cannot be considered a great price for a huge 

 Brahma cock weighing 9 lbs. or 10 lbs., *-f «gg|/^°^gf «^^| 

 birds are now advertised in any number at from 3s. to 5s. tne 



'''"'"S- (To be continuea.) 



WHAKFEDALE POULTRY AND PIGEON SHOW. 

 This Show was held at Otley on the 19th inst., and was in all 

 respects a great success, the entries being "^"f .^"'^^"^^^ *^^ 

 on iny pre^ous occasion. The morning ™|„';''lf,'^^f -".^"f ^,' 

 the afternoon exceedingly fine, and the influx of visitors was 



^With the exception of the winners Spanish ^-^'-f, ^°t .f;/' ^^^ 

 those were very good in face, drop, and comb. Dorlmgs were 

 SoTerltely goo^d,\ut badly matchedas regards colour^ CoW, «s 

 were a good class ; the first prize went to Lemon Buff, and the 

 Tecond to Partridge-coloiured. The cock m the fi-^^t-^^^^^P^^ 

 was one of the most perfect-coloured birds that has yet been 

 nrod™ed Brahmas were also good, most of the pens contarn- 

 Fng Wb w^-thyof notice. OiPolands there ^e^;? °^f ^^^'f^ 

 pels. The first prize went to Silver and the second to Golden 

 ofTquaUty rarely seen. 01 Game there was a capital show the 

 nrizes being shai-ply contested and won only by very slight 

 ^oSs, v^\h^he e?ce^ption of the single cocl^.m which the cup 

 for the best pen was awarded to a Brown Bed stag which mU 

 no doubt be again heard of in the prize hsts Duckings weie 

 a fair class bSt many of the hens were out of feather. Ihe 

 M^^L were ver^ good in point of ^V-^^^ ^f^l^^^^,^^ 

 the cup for the best pen in the Show was awarded to Silver- 

 nenciUed, which were nearly perfect in all points With the 

 exceXn of the winners the Game Bantams looked very badly, 

 no doubt owing to the coldness of the wind, which played quite 

 too^h the pe°ns. The winning Black Bantams were vei-y fine 

 ii "eather ami condition, although qmte !«§« ^-J^^Sgi'^ ^^^ 

 next class was for single Game Bantam cocks, and these weie 

 of good quTh^ although the second P"^^ ™f '.-'^.I'^jeP^iy 

 Save been chiiged for a bird shown by Mr. Smith of ^orth- 

 owram, which on a second exanimation appeared to be the 

 better of the two. In Bantams of any other vanety Whites 

 were first In the Variety class Crrue-Caur. won both prizes. 

 ""Xcifs came next, Eoueis being first, and for the time of year 

 thev were in good plumage, as also were the Aylesbury, iheie 

 was^ako a Variety class for Ducks, in w^ich a very fine pair of 

 luddy Shells were first and Viduata Whistlers second The 

 iest o^f the bii-ds were Bahamas, Mandarins, Carolmas^, and 

 common Teal. TarUys were large and good. Mi. Leech was 

 first with a handsome pair of Cambridge. _^, , . , „ f.„„hiri3 

 In the Selling class, Spanish were first and Partridge Cochins 



"Th'e'^schedule for Figcons is but poor— scarcely worth whUe 

 for ell^bitors to enter^n at this the height of the breeding 

 season; still, some excellent birds made their aPPe^;'-^^' he^t 

 Carriers Blacks were first and Duns second, the cup for the best 

 pa™be&g awarded to the former, although the best cock m the 

 Show wal that of Mr. Taylor, but the hen was very poor Jonong 

 Pouters Blues were first andEeds second; and m Barbs TeUows 

 werrfirst and Blacks second. The first in Jacobms were vei-y 

 ' good Reds? and the second Tellows. , » i^ f If '^.°^; i°*.'°hev 

 fuoh a pair of Turbits as were those m the first-prize pen they 

 were B ue, and as neariy faultless as possible. Antwerp^ we.e 

 poor, with the exception of the first-pnze Duns. In common 

 Tumblers capital Black Mottles were first, and very sound^ 

 coloured Black Balds second. Fantails were also good. Those 

 shown by Mr. Loversidge were very small, and fine in quality. 

 In Owls the winners were all foreign Blues, most of the bn do m 

 the class being very good. There was also a class for Eunts, 

 the first in which were SUver and the second Blue. In the 

 Variety class Master Dawson was first with a most exquisite 

 pai of'pWbacked Ice Pigeons which for quaUtyand condition 

 are not to be excelled. Second came a handsome pair oi a new 

 varietv known as Bagdad. These were similar to a ^ hite 

 Dragoon i^ some pointl, but much longer, sti-onger, and cui-ved 



"spil'^sH (Black) -1 and 2, T. C. 4 E. NewMtt, Epworlh. he, W. Smallwood, 

 ^SniS^s^T 'W.- H:"lflSk^KocMal'e^'l"afa c. 3. Newall, CUIton. York. 

 ""fcl^mN-lmsA -1 H.C.&W. J. Ma^on, Drishlmston. Leeds. 2,H.Beldon. 



1 ftc H BeWon(^I; J. Holmes, Whitecote'^, CheaterBeld. c, E. Lech. 



lAMB*Wdr-l''i?'s1.enc°e''r. ClaylOB, Bradford. 2, M. Forttme, Morlou 

 sSilfa «, E.AykroVrEcclekhill/Leecl8 (2); J. Hird, F;=»S''^. f^S'g = 'J' 



''oSMi5*t£?'viriety).-l, W. Fell. Adwalton. 2, H. C. 4 W. J. Mason. 

 "•£-^'c?.TiG^olYJs''»M^^ 



°SZiB^^^;^pS;ied,^^,'^"BSli|-«o. 4 Boot., Broad- 

 ''"H\TBV^'3°n rs".de'^iInJS^i,'^'.'BeMiS- l.ll'KolUnson. kc. S. Smith. 

 Northowram, HaUlax ; H.Beldon. 



