October 9, 1873. ] 



JOUBNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



279 



or pieces of wood mast bo laid so as t » reach the eiitje of the saucer. Care 

 mnst be used with this mixture, as it will poison whatever partakes of it. 



Son. FOR PoTTisG Bedding Plants (F. 7.). — The soil of which you sent 

 a sample is too heavy, nnd not sufficiently decomposed for pottia^'; but it may 

 be improved by addin<; saud freely, and chopping up fine, and by mixing with 

 the leafsoil. Merely torn up it WL>uld be too rou^h and open. All composts 

 for pottini; should be kept nuder cover for several days before they are required 

 for use. Keep it under cover in winter. It is not good to use wot soil for 

 potting. 



Dn'iDi:*G Violas a.-kd PAXsres {Idem). — Plants of these, if taken up now, 

 divided, and planted, each division baring good roots, will flower as early and 

 nearly ag well as those from cuttiosrs only just struck. The Moaa on your 

 lawn is a Selas'iuella. whi';h will probably increase if left alone. We know of 

 no mode of encouraging it to spread. 



Seedling Apple {Dotibtf'uli.—U is a good early pudding Apple, bat not 

 bettor thau many others already grown. 



Boiler fob Heating Range of HbosES (Protector). — Probably the most 

 economical is that of the No. 1 Circulator ; but we should advise you to write 

 to the different makers that advertise in our columns, asking for edtimato. 



Plane Tree TiuaEa (£. C).— The wood of the Plane tree is used for the 

 same purposes as that of the Sycamore, which is for turnery and cabinet 

 work. The Turks use timber of the Oriental Plane for ship- building. 



Plane or Sycamore {Sunny). — The Oriental and western Planes are quite 

 distinct from the Sycamore. The former belong to the erenns Platauus, and 

 the latter to Acer. The trees which you see in London with " little bobs " 

 baDgittg some distance from the boui^h are the Plane, and the " little bobs " 

 aro the flowers in spring and the fruit in autumn. It depends much on the 

 soil whether the Elm or Sycamore grows faster, and there are so many 

 variotius of Elm varying in growth that ic is difficult to know to which of 

 them you refer. 



Decayed Apples and Pears (E. Watts^. — Their extreme state of decay 

 and mouldiness we cannot account for, not knowing anything about the trees, 

 their culture, and their locality. We presume the soil is very wet, the situation 

 Teiy damp, and the trees very crowded. 



Naues of Fruits (B. S.).— Longville's Kernel. (W. TT.).— Alfriston. 

 (J. Woodliffi.^l, Graveostein ; 2, Red Summer Calville ; 3, Winter Majetin ; 

 the Pear is Beurrt- Ciair^^eau. (IT. G.). — No. 1, Dumelow's Seedling; 2, 

 I>ack*8Bill: 3, Hoary Morning ; 5. Beurre Diel. (H. iVori/art).— Franklin's 

 Golden Pippin. {K. Z.\. — You have not numbered the Pears. The largest is 

 BotUTc de Kance. and the smallest Winter Nelis, the other two were quite 

 rotten. \WilHam TkompsonK — The two Pears are certainly distinct, and 

 neither of them is a crosd-bred. No. 1 is true Souvenir du Congrus, but the 

 other, which is worthless, we do not recognise. (J. B. O.). — Northern Green- 

 ing. (B. C. Oi//^y|.— Dacho=9ed'Orleans. (L. J.B.l—l, Federal Pearmain; 

 2, Bniddiek's Nonpareil; 4, Feam's Pippin; 5, Golden Winter Pearmain; 

 6, Beinette des Carmes. (D. B.). — 5, Lewis's Incomparable; 6, Barcelona 

 Poaimain ; 9, YurkHbire Greening; 11, ll«jfe de Menage ; 20, Paradise Pippin. 

 (W. D. Payn*:). — Fear : Marie Louise. AppUs : No. 5, Beauty of Kent ; 89, 

 Oolden Noble; 74, Probably Small's Admirable; 150, Christui Pippiu. {Box 

 from Wincturgtrr, marked " CokerNut ConifiW't, — 1, Round Winter Nonsuch ; 

 2, Hall Door; 5, Cellini; 6. Ltieombe's Seedling; 8, Small Beurre Clairgeau. 

 (Hogg rf- WooJ).— No. 1, Small Dumelow's Seedling; 2, KeiTy Pippiu. (R. A.). 

 — Peart: No. 1, Marie Louise: 2, Beurre Diel; 4, Black Worcester. (Spero). 

 — 1, Quito rotten ; 2, Lady's Finger; 4, Autumn Colmar; 5, Marie Louise; 

 6,Rotteu; 7, Beurr*- deWetteren; 8, Hawthoruden. ( JT. Milhr). — Ptutr: 

 Brown Beurr---; 3, Scarlet Nonpareil ; 4, Cellini; 11, Dumelow's Seedling; 

 24, Mere de Mi:>nage. (/. B.).— 1, Blenheim Pippin; 2, Hawthomden; 3, Cob- 

 haxn; 5, Cornish Aromatic ; 9. Golden Winter Peat main; 8, Aromatic Ruseet. 

 Pear$: 17. Swan's E;,'g; 21, Flemish Beauty; 2 and 18, Rotten. (S. P.).~ 



6, Wykeo Pippin ; 4, Northern Greening ; 13, Delaware ; 3, Blenheim Pippin ; 



7, Hawthomden : 10, Keswick Codlin. {B. S. J.).— Pears: 1, .Jersey GratiuJi; 

 2, Belle Julie ; S, Duumore ; 4, Not known. Apples: 1, Fearn's Pippin; 

 2, Byeonwood ; 3, Sturmcr Pippin ; 6, Bedfordshire Foundling. (A. H. Moijen). 

 — Pearn: No. 1, Btllissime d'Hiver; 2, Beum- Diel; 3, Figue de Naples; 

 4, PasaeColmar; 5, Forelle; 6, Old Colmar. The seedling Apcde is not equal 

 to m&oy already in cultivation. (Yucca). — 1, Blenheim Pippin; 3, Franklin's 

 Golden' Pippin; &, Kins of the Pippins; 9, Yorkshire Greening ; 17, Dume- 

 low's Seedling ; 14, Winter Greening. \E, S. H.\. — No. 2, Russet Pearmain ; 

 18, Golden Knob ; 1, Colonel Vaughon's ; 11, Winter Strawberry ; 9, Cellini ; 

 10, Winttr Greening. iC E. S.). — 1, Autumn Pearmain; 2, Koyal Pearmain; 



8, Lonijviilft'w Kernel ; 4, Early Nonpareil. iG. Diss). — I, Winter Ilawthoni- 

 den; 2, Selw^wd'a Reinette; 3, Blenheim Pippin; 4, Dumelow's Seedling. 

 (Jlfe>jno).— 1, Red Astrachan; 2, Kerry Pippin; ii^ Royal Eusset; 4, Brabant 

 Belleflenr; 5, Cockle Pippin. 



NAUE-i OF Plvnts (.1/. H. M.). — The leaf you send is. we think, Poly- 

 moninm csTuleum variegatum, one of the prettiest ornaments of tho flower 

 garden, bat it (ie«ms to tliriro better in Scotland and the nurth of England 

 t b#n near Lond'>n. In itd normal state it is occasionally found wild, but 

 rarely. Its English name is Jacob's Ladder. (G. B.j.— We cannot identify 

 it without seeiug tho flowers as well as loaves. 



POITLTET, BEE, AST) PIGEON OHEONIOLE. 



STANDARD CHARACTERISTICS. 

 I HAVE been interestftd by seeing how the question of publish- 

 ing jn'lg'^8' names baa drawn out many opinions as to the need of 

 a fixed standard for jndging. One says, " All judges ought to 

 have one standard of excellence, and award the prizes accord- 

 ingly;" another asks for "the same standard to he used by 

 judges in all parts of the country, we should then know what to 

 do ;" another still craves for " all judjjes to award hy one recog- 

 nised standard ;" and another affirms point-blank that " judging 

 at poultry shows will never give anything like general satisfac- 

 tion until there is a recognised standard of excellence," also 

 adding that, armed with such, amateurs would soon be suffi- 

 ciently skilled to deal with experts, and that any intelligent 

 fancier after a year or two's experience might give satisfaction ' 



as a judge, while points would be kept from shifting too. All 

 these opinions are very natural, and have indeed some basis of 

 truth ; but it seems to me that they embody also a very con- 

 siderable amount of misconception, on which account I should 

 like to give the subject a few words. 



My impression is that I have myself given the subject of a 

 standard for judging by, greater and more sustained attention 

 than any other single individual has yet done. For several 

 years past I have, as time and opportunity offered, compared 

 the decisions of our best judges and attempted to tabulate them, 

 adopting long ago the superior American system of 100 points 

 as a gross total of excellence. My object was not to make a 

 table or set of tables which should show what judging ought to 

 be, but to see if any figures would show with a fair amount of 

 accuracy what it really was, as carried out by our best accepted 

 authorities. My plan was somewhat as follows : Haviugarough 

 table of points supposed to represent with some attempt at cor- 

 rectness their proper value, I examined how far the judging of a 

 good class at any show appeared to square with it. Probably some 

 one prize pen at least was in evident contradiction to it. Where- 

 upon I had to consider whether, according to my best and un- 

 biassed judgment, such award was an evident error ; or if not, 

 what elements needed introducing, or increasing, or decreasing 

 in the table, to bring the award in. When thus brought in, it 

 had to be considered whether or not the scale as now modified 

 still represented the other correct awards, and so far as memory 

 would seive from such memoranda as 1 had made, other awards 

 previously noted and collated. It was very slow work, and for 

 a long while nothing seemed to be gained, but by degrees I 

 began to see dayUght ahead, and I am bound to say that the 

 impression I ultimately formed was not one of surprise at the 

 amount of inconsistency and error, for some amount of these 

 there undoubtedly is; but of astonishment at the vast majority 

 of really consistent judgment if the grounds were only fully 

 understood. 



This, then, is the first misconception I would mention. There 

 are errors and inconsistencies in judging, but the amount of 

 them has been very greatly exaggerated. It is said there is 

 "general" dissatisfaction with judging. I do not share that 

 opinion, but on the contrary believe that at least some half-dozen 

 gentlemen I could name, whUe no doubt some are better liked 

 than others, yet allh&ve on the whole the "general" respect 

 and confidence of exhibitors at large. People talk very " large " 

 about refusing to exhibit unless the present system is changed ; 

 but they don't really do it, or, if they do, others take their places ; 

 and I feel at times somewhat amused at so many saying the fancy 

 and shows " must come to an end " unless things mend, while 

 all the time the pot keeps on boiling more and more furiously. 



But secondly, I do not agree for one moment that there is any 

 real doubt, to any serious extent, as to the ideal of a perfect 

 bird. My meaning, if not my words, have been twisted from the 

 original, when I am spoken of as speaking of judging being 

 " diametrically opposite." Taking two of the judges who differ 

 most, say upon the point of leg-feather and vulture hock, it 

 would not be found, if each chalked out his ideal of a Cochin in 

 this respect, that they differed to any serious extent. The 

 difference between them chiefly lies in this — that one dreads a 

 fault or departure from this ideal in one direction more than 

 the other, while his brother judge rather dreads the opposite 

 fault. One would rather see an almost bare leg than vulture 

 hock, while the other would rather see the vulture hock than 

 the bare leg. And after watching this particular question of leg- 

 feather with pecuUar attention for the last five years, I will 

 state my decided conviction that both classes of opinion are 

 necessary in order to preserve the perfect medium. If one 

 judge's opinion became general, we should soon get all nearly 

 bare legs, the opposite fault not being even tolerated, and vice 

 versa. We did see this very thing a year or two back. And still 

 further, should the balance of opinions in such a point become 

 destroyed, the very same fault may be judged differently by the 

 same judge ; for it is manifest that if bare poles were the general 

 rule, it would be a judge's duty to discourage it, and rather give 

 prizes to birds perceptibly hocked than to such, in order to dis- 

 courage the evil tendency ; while later, if bare legs seemed all 

 gone out and (vulture hocks were setting iu, ho would, if a 

 thoughtful man, judge on precisely opposite principles. This 

 consideration alone will explain many so-called " inconsistent" 

 awards; and such " changes of fashion" are often charged on 

 the judges when the breeders really caused them, and the much- 

 abused judges are simply doing their best to stem the popular 

 error of the day. 



But thirdly, after long and careful study of the matter I do 

 not see the possibility of any " fixed " standards at all. It 

 assumes y;na?j7;/ iu poultry-breeding, and in forbidding change 

 would forbid all improvement too. If an amateur considers 

 that by a slight and almost imperceptible alteration a breed 

 would be improved, he has a right to try the experiment, and 

 should his bird when shown commend itself to the best judg- 

 ment available at the period, who is to forbid him winning his 

 prize ? And if general feeling goes strongly iu favour of birds a 



