34 



JOUBNAL OF HOETICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



t July 10, 1873. 



Distinguishing Carnations, Picotees, and Pinks (J. TT.). —Carnation 

 marks are in flakes or ribbons of colour from centre to edge, and tbrough the 

 edge ; and the more dense these ribbons, or stripes, or flakes of colom- are, and 

 the more distinct the white ground bciween them, the better, and the more 

 equally divided as to quantity they are the better. As tbe petals are 

 broader as they approach the outer edge, so also are, or should be, both the 

 colour and the white. They are divided into claaaes called Bizarres aud 

 Plakes, the former having two colours of stripe besides tbe white, the latter 

 only one colour-. These Bizarres and Flakes ai-e subdivided, there being 

 purple flakes, rose flakes, and scarlet flakes ; and among the Bizai-res, scarlet 

 bizarres, which have scarlet stripes, and a second colour, which is cousiderad 

 better for a rich contrast of black, and approaches to it ; then pm-ple bizarres. 

 ■which have purple stripes, with a light pink or rose, or some other colour, 

 forming a contrast. The Picotee has tbe colour only ou the edge, and broad 

 or nanow, as the case may be, but ramifying towards the centre; any mark 

 or spirt of colour that does not touch the edge is a blemish. Some, there- 

 fore, we only marked round the edge veiy dist inctly, but as narrow as possible ; 

 others have a sort of feathering, narrow or deep as the case may be, but 

 feathering inwards frum the edge ; the outer edge solid, and the inner edge 

 rough or feathery. The Pink is distinct from both these. The lacing, as it 

 Tvere, of a Pink is rough outside and inside, with a portion of white outside 

 tbe lacing, as if a baud of colour had been laid on ; besides this, there is 

 colour at the base of every petal, and, perhaps, one-third of tbe distance 

 along the petal, so that it forms an eye or centre of colour, which is peculiar 

 to itself, and which never occurs in tbe Carnation or Picotee. A Pink without 

 its lacing all round each petal, and its narrow strip of white outside it, would 

 be worthless as a show flower. The more distinct this lacing is the better ; 

 it should look like an even piece of embroidery, just faii'ly within the outer 

 edge of the white. 



Grub on Pear Leaves (J. C. A.).— It is the slimy grub, of which we 

 gave drawings and full notes in our No. 6B8, published June 19th. Dust 

 slaked lime over tbe grubs. 



Names of Roses (fl". C.).— The petals were all falling off when we received 

 them; we believe No. 1 is Charles Lefebvre; 29. General Jacqueminot; 

 32, Lord Raglan. It is very difficult to name florists' flowers from single 

 specimens in a flagging state. We aie nearly sure of 29 and 82, but No. 1 

 might be Madame Victor Verdier. 



Name of Fruit (C. Sjui^/j).— Barcelona Pearmain. 



Names of Plants llnquirer).—! and 6, Lastrea dilatata {?) ; 2, L. Filix-mas ; 

 S, L. Filix-ftemina ; 4, Polysticbum angulare ; 5, P. aculeatum(?}. (F. H.). — 

 1, Oxalis incarnata, a Cape species, and, therefore, certainly not the Shamrock, 

 though what plant was originally go called is open to question. 2, Eutoca 

 viscosa, a Califomian annual. (John S.). — A species of Cotoneaster. (M. ^/.\ 

 — Kalmia angustifolia. {Young Gardener). — 2, Selaginella uncinata; 4, S. 

 apus; 1 and 3, Indeterminable without fruit. (R. H. (7.).— 1, Hypolepis 

 repens ; 2, Pteris scaherula; 3, Cystopteris fragilis ; 4 and 5, Pellsea hastata. 

 {A Subscriber). — We cannot name florists' varieties, nor plants from leaves 

 only. 



POULTEY, BEE, AND PIGEON OSRONIOLE. 



POULTEY PAST AND PRESENT— THE LAW OF 



DEVELOPMENT.— No. 3. 



In my last paper on this subject I tried to show by the ex- 

 ample of the Game fowl, that if the attention of the breeders of 

 a variety be mainly fixed upon one point, or set of points, other 

 points will and must lose, while those sought increase in per- 

 fection. It will be found on examination that this law is general, 

 and explains most of those changes of fashion which can be 

 remarked in poultry-breeding. But it will also be found on 

 examination that when perfection, or what is considered suffi- 

 cient perfection, is once reached, other points can be attended 

 to without much depreciation of the points already gained, pro- 

 vided only these last are not, as often happens, again com,- 

 paratively lost sight of. 



I have been singularly interested to observe how this simple 

 law is to be clearly traced through the past history of many 

 breeds, as shown by the copious notes which have been placed 

 at my disposal by various breeders for the work on which I am 

 now engaged. A good example is found in the Spangled Ham- 

 burghs. Mr. Eeldon — than whom there can hardly be a better 

 authority — believes that the original of this breed was the York- 

 ehire Pheasant, from which, by careful breeding, was made the 

 Lancashire Mooney. In this breed, as is well known, the spang- 

 ling of the hens was the one point sought, and it was obtained 

 in glorious perfection. But in fastening attention upon this 

 other points were lost sight of, and accordingly the breed de- 

 teriorated in neatness of head, in ear-lobe, and in the plumage 

 of the cock, which, there can be little doubt, became hen- 

 feathered through this close breeding to get well-spangled hens, 

 as it is still found that heavily-spangled cocks are the best for 

 this purpose. After awhile the neglected points were required 

 by the judges, but were only obtained at first by such a sacrifice 

 of spangling in the hens that these could not be shown, the 

 Mooney being required to be shown in this sex. By degrees, 

 however, the pullets produced by the cross became better and 

 better, till at length several Hamburgh breeders possess strains 

 which breed first-rate Silver-spangled cocks, while y::t the 

 puUets produced are little inferior to the old Silver Mooneys, 

 ■which have consequently almost disappeared. Other instances 

 could be named, but one adequate illustration is as good as many, 

 and I am anxious to come to the practical application of what we 

 have been considering. 



If I wished to put that into the fewest words, it would be those 



of the old proverb, " One thing at a time," a maxim which de- 

 serves writing in letters of gold, so little is it understood by 

 young and inexperienced fanciers. As a rule they will not believe 

 in it till they have tried the other way and lost heavily by it ; 

 and many never learn it at all. But I never knew a good breeder 

 of any breed who did not act upon it, whether he thought he 

 did or not. The young amateur, however, goes on a different 

 plan. Having mated his birds and bred his first-year's chickens, 

 he finds he has in his yard, in all probability, some prevalent 

 fault. He buys a cockerel at a good price to remedy this fault, 

 and breeds again. Probably this fault is somewhat better, but 

 some other fault now appears, and he now perhaps buys another 

 bird, or, if not, mates up his own, almost entirely with a view to 

 remedy that, when he finds to his dismay that either the first 

 fault, or perhaps a third, again appears to trouble him, and show 

 that he is as far off perfection as ever ; and so he goes on. It has 

 been the experience of hundreds. 



Nowthe reason of allthisis, thathe has never bredforany point 

 of perfection long enough to really fix it in his yard. He never 

 stays to secure what ground he has already gained, but throws 

 this away while trying to get some more. He has no fixed ideas, 

 which all good breeders have, and he gets the proverbial reward 

 of every man who works without a purpose or a plan. He tries 

 to remedy fault after fault, just as it appears the most glaring of 

 the season to his eyes, and if there he any brief change of fashion 

 in judging, as there occasionally is {generally, I believe, it will 

 be found, these changes of fashion occur in order to counteract 

 the faults of the day), he tries to meet them too. In brief, he 

 fails simply because he does not understand it must be one 

 thing at a time. 



Every breed has its ideal standard or model. The amateur 

 must first get this well into his mind ; or, if he thinks the 

 understood ideal faulty, he is at Uberty to form in his mind a 

 better — if he can. Few men think exactly alike on these things, 

 and hence the differences we see in different strains. Now, 

 having formed his ideal, he has to consider what class of points 

 are at once the hardest to secure, and the most valuable when 

 made permanent. In nearly all varieties these are beyond 

 question the points of colour or feather. As a rule, therefore, 

 these should be the first points bred for, and breeding should 

 for several years be mainly dh-ected to securing them in the 

 highest perfection, and in such a degree that the stock can be 

 depended upon to breed birds satisfactory in this respect. 

 While doing this other points need not be altogether ignored, 

 of course; but they should be ke]?t somewhat subordinate, and 

 only a general kind of attention be given to them to see that they 

 do not become very bad, while the ground being more specially 

 cultivated is made thoroughly secure. Then, when so much has 

 been done, comparatively little care will be needed to preserve 

 the points thus attained, and from the chickens bred from the 

 strain thus far formed such may be selected as present other 

 points desii'ed. Crossing, or at least a thoroughly alien cross, 

 should very rarely be ventured upon, nearly always doing much 

 harm from a mere fancier's point of view, for the simple reason 

 that you can never be siu'e the bird selected has been the pro- 

 duct of a similar " course " of breeding to your own yard, and 

 if not, he will introduce an element of uncertainty which is un- 

 desirable, and often dangerous. But by steadily persevering 

 with one stock, working steadily towards a definite object, and 

 securing all ground really gained, a gradual but sure approach 

 to excellence will be ensm-ed, and every year will see something 

 evidently gained. 



This, then, is what I mean by the law of development. You 

 have simply to breed steadily towards any desired point, select- 

 ing those birds which show it best, and you infallibly get it (if 

 the standard you set up be a possible one), if you keep ou long 

 enough. While doing this you can pay only subordinate atten- 

 tion to other points ; but when done you can pay more to them 

 also, since your fixed strain ■roll give you so many birds with 

 the points you first sought, that you can select from them all 

 you want to secure the next point. It is simple as a b c, and 

 bears the same relation to the whole science of breeding which 

 those letters do to all written language. I am not sorry that the 

 difference between some breeds of poultry past and present has 

 given me occasion for a few words ujion it. — L. Wright. 



EXHIBITING SINGLE BIRDS. 



It is surprising that more has not been said on the single-bird 

 system. However, the number of letters that may appear in 

 print is not always an index of feeling on a subject. I do not 

 exhibit much, but when I do exhibit I prefer those shows where 

 the single-bird system is adopted. Small breeders like myself 

 find it almost impossible to show where the above system is not 

 adopted, A man might possess a good male bird and two good 

 hens, and yet not be able to exhibit a pair. Two birds that did 

 not match might possess greater merit than two that did, j-et 

 the latter would win. I breed from thirty to forty chickens 

 (Buff Cochin) during the season, and I obtain two fit to exhibit 

 anywhere, I am more than satisfied d yet how very impro- 



