September 4, 1873. ] 



JOUBNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



181 



did; but we discontinued watering, admitted a Utile air at night, and watered 

 only when the plants floj^ged. They have done well, a little shade being given 

 from bright sun. 



Insects on Gesneras and Gloxinias (Cop<'). — There were some thrips 

 on the leaver when they reached us. There was also an aphi^. The ntmo- 

 Bphere has been too diy and bright; slight shade from bright gun and a 

 niuister atmosphere would have been desirable, ay the leaves are not only 

 infested with insects, but slightly scorched, probably (rum ihe sun's rays 

 falling powerfully on them whilst wet, or it maybe due to the atmosphere 

 being dry and the evaporation from the leaves excessive, ior the insects 

 fumigate the house on two successive evenings with tobacco, shutting the 

 house up close, and wetting tlie floor and other surfaces, but keeping the 

 foliage of the plants dry. These plants are easily injured in their foliage 

 by strong fumigations, therefore only fumigate moderately. 



V.UUF.TIES Of Stra^vberries <[E.). — You should plant say nine sorts' 

 and select those most suitable for your garden. Black Prince is carliesti 

 followed by Keens' Seedling, sir J.PaxtoD. President, Premier, iJrilish Queen, 

 Mr. Radclyffe, La Cocstaute, and Frogmoro Late Piue. 



Use of Sewage (G. J/. H.). — You will see what ia said on our first pageS 

 to-day. All your questions, and more, you isill find answered iu " Mouui-es 

 for the Many." which you can have fiee by post from our office if you enclose 

 Sid. la stamps with yoiu- addiess. 



NA3IBS OF Fecit (H. B.). — Send the specimens canifige paid addi'Ob^sed to 

 the Editors at our office, and we will name them. It must, however, be un- 

 derstood that we cannot undertake the labour of naiuiug Icu'ge hamperfuls 

 at a time. 



Names of Plants (J. K., Eartlebitry). — "We cannot name varieties of 

 florists' flowers nor any plant from leaves only. {Clare Subscriber) — We 

 cannot name plants frum such scraps. (Anne nnd Oihirs). — We have received 

 Ixixcs, some without senders' names, and all with such numerous specimens 

 that we could not examine them. [C. F.). — Your epeoimeu is vexy imperfect; 

 wu beUere it to be Campanula liliifolia. 



POULTS Y, BEE, AND PIGEON OHEONIOLE. 



PUBLISHING JUDGES' NAMES. 



I WAS rather glad to see this subject discussed again iu the 

 pages of the Journal, as I think it of some importance to the 

 "well-beiDg of the fancy. I am not at present personally in- 

 terested in the qnestiou either way, utter want of time prevent- 

 ing me from making any attempt to exhibit, except at the few 

 great shows at the close of the year, at which, though wc often 

 do not know exactly who will judge our birds, we do kuow that 

 competent parties are pretty sure to be appointed ; but I have 

 had various complaints poured into my ears of late concerning 

 the awards at certain local exhibitions, which show things to be 

 in a far from satisfactory condition. It is not perhaps very easy 

 to take a beating good-temperedly, even when one is forced to 

 acknowledge that the winning birds are really better than one's 

 own ; but when anyone who understands his breed knows and 

 feels that his birds have been unjustly displaced in favour of 

 birds which are not superior, it is only natural to expect that 

 his feelings will be bitter indeed. Even then, if the mistake 

 has been made by a sterling good judge, who has the sense to 

 own it as a mistake which — perhaps from want of time, or bad 

 light, or other reason — he could not avoid, and you know he has 

 honestly done his best with the opportunities he had, you can, 

 after the first momentary vexation, put up with the mishap ; but 

 when it is felt that such mistakes have been the result ol sheer 

 incompetence, directly chargeable to the committee of the show, 

 X do not wonder that heart-burnings and dissatisfaction find 

 open expression, as I linow on many occasions lately to have 

 been the case. 



I wish, however, chiefly to point out two advantages which it 

 seems to me would follow from the names of the judges being 

 published in the schedule. The differences of opinion of certain 

 judges are well known, and have been remarked upon already ; 

 for instance, I could name two who differ considerably as to 

 what is the proper ground colour of a Gold-spangled Hamburgh, 

 and another, most deservedly respected, whose partiality to an 

 almost bare leg in Asiatics, rather than to what most breeders 

 now like — viz., a nice, full, but soft curling hock, is also notorious. 

 I am not, be it remembered, finding fault with these gentlemen ; 

 my object is not at all personal, and they have as good a right to 

 their own opinions as I have to mine, and to judge couBistently 

 with them. What I wish to point out is the obvious inconveni- 

 ence and injustice to themselves which arises from the present 

 system. Supposing, for instance, Mr. A has been winning at 

 almost every show with his Cochins, so that it is well known he 

 has about the best birds of the season, and such a judge as I 

 have hinted at, disliking the " feather" of these birds, throws 

 them out; the conaerjaence is that the judge is branded as in- 

 competent by men who luow nothing of his reasons, but only 

 see that he passes by birds the usual judges consider 8tandard.s. 

 But most breeders of Asiatics have various kinds of leg-feather 

 in their yards, and had it been known that such-and-such a 

 judge would officiate, they could have selected a pen of birds, 

 first-class in quality, of such a leg-feather as would have suited 

 him. The advantage wonld be not so much to Mr. A, but that 

 the violent shock to public opinion wonld be avoided, and con- 

 fidence in the judge maintained. 



I cannot see that selecting pens to suit the views of judges is 

 at all illegitimate. So long as they judge at all consistently, 

 they have a right to do so by what they think correct standards, 

 and also by discouraging nteasures to check any strong tendency 

 they may think they perceive towards a given fault. There can 

 be no harm in such consistent opinions becoming known, if only 

 they are known alike and openly to all ; and it is far worse as 

 happens now, for a very few only to know who is going to judge, 

 and thus have an advantage over the rest. 



But what in my judgment would be a still greater benefit 

 would follow. Committees, having to engage judges in time to 

 put in their schedules, would be compelled to make early 

 arrangements for judging ; and even if disappointed of the man 

 they first applied to, would still have ample time to eugage 

 some other competent person. As it is, they jierlinps leave it 

 till only a week or two before the show, and then write off in a 

 hurry to, say, Mr. Hewitt. He is engaged. Then they apply to 

 Mr. Teebay. He is engaged too. They try someone else ; and 

 at last are obliged to be content with someone who would never 

 have been even thought of, had it not been left till too late to 

 get anyone else. And not only so, but many clashing dates 

 would thus be prevented. For suppose a committee write to a 

 well-known judge and ask him if they may count upon him to 

 judge at A , on the 15th November. He wi-ites back, per- 

 haps, " I would gladly come, but I am engaged to judge at 



B on the same day." The question at once arises (the 



schedule not being yet issued), whether the A committee 



had not better alter their date to avoid clashing with B , and 



thus they very likely would avoid an injurious competition, and 

 get their wished-for judge after all. 



I have never seen one good argument against such a course. 

 If a judge is at all accessible to private letters, supposing him 

 known beforehand, he lacks the very first element of the judicial 

 office — integrity, and the sooner he is disposed the better 

 Should he be troubled with any kind of letters, he may justi- 

 fiably leave them unanswered if he chooses. In simple fact, 

 there are dozens of shows yearly, which it is well understood 

 will be judged by the same parties yearly if nothing absolutely 

 prevents ; and 1 am quite sure these shows and the judges who 

 officiate there stand at least as far above suspicion as anj' others 

 whose judges are not known. 



I hope the correspondence will draw out a few more opinions 

 upon the siibject. I do not mean necessarily all ou one side. 

 If there are any good reasons why the names should not be 

 published, I am sure we should all like to hear them, and that 

 exhibitors as a body are open to conviction. — L. Weight. 



EXHIBITION FRAUDS. 



Two letters have recently appeared in your Journal strongly 

 condemning the practice of persons exhibiting what they have 

 " bought," and Mr. Paul in effect states that no one should be 

 allowed to exhibit plants, flowers, or such-like unless they were 

 actually "cultivated," and brought to their then state of excel- 

 lence by the "skill and industry" of the exhibitor ; but if this 

 rule were made law it would practically put a stop to all shows 

 of whatever sort or kind. A rule that applied to an exhibition of 

 the vegetable kingdom must, by a parity of reasoning, apply to 

 an exhibition of the animal kingdom ; and therefore if a person 

 who exhibits flowers he has bought is to be considered as want- 

 ing in morality, and guilty of a fraud, and to be held up to 

 general execration, so also must be he who buys " a prizetuking 

 animal " at one show and exhibits it afterwards at others as his 

 own, and yet this is the rule rather thau the exception. The 

 great majority of the horses, dogs, poultrj', ifcc, exhibited at our 

 present shows, were never bred nor reared by the exhibitors, 

 but simply purchased, or perhaps even only borrowed for the 

 occasion. " Skill and industry " have had nothing to do with 

 the matter ; it has been merely a question of pounds, shillings, 

 and pence ; and therefore if an exhibitor is considered perfectly 

 justified by all rules and precedents in exhibiting and taking a 

 prize at a show with some animal which he has just purchased, 

 why should an exhibitor be so severely condemned for doing 

 exactly the same thing with plants, flowers, Sec. ? If the prize 

 were for " the best roses to be grown by the exh'bitor," " bought 

 roses" would be of course disqualified, and in a country show 

 everybody would know whether they were bought or not ; but if 

 simply for " the best Roses," no one could be considered guilty 

 of fraud because he himself had not grown what he exhibited. — 

 E. C. C. " 



POULTRY ON AMERICAN FARMS. 



The careful manager of a full stock of all the varieties com- 

 prised in a respectable establishment, will be particular to place 

 the Turkeys so that they cannot worry the common hens ; the 

 Geese so that they will not tyrannise over the Ducks, and so on 

 with the rest, at the same time preventing the breeding portion 

 from being annoyed by their own species ; for the young broods 

 do best when away from the regular haunts of the old fowls. 



At the present moment I know of two places where poultry 



