INTRODUCTION 



Wright was more conveniently situated for 

 poultry-keeping, and bought his first dark 

 Brahmas (claiming a pair of pullets, h.c. at 

 Birmingham, and getting a promising cockerel 

 from the Rev. Jas. Ellis, of Bracknell, Berks). 

 With these birds (chickens were then often 

 shown in pens of a cockerel and two pullets) 

 Mr. Wright took first at Bristol, then one of 

 the leading shows, beating Mr. Boyle, whose 

 Brahmas at that time were at the height of 

 a successful show career, and so under favour- 

 able auspices made his debut as an exhibitor. 



In an interesting article contributed in 1893 

 to The Feathered ll'or/d Mr. Wright graphically 

 described the Brahma fowl of nearly thirty years 

 before, showing in what respect it differed from 

 the type of bird then in favour, giving also the 

 sources from which he built up a strain of dark 

 Brahmas of which he had cause to be proud. 

 To the end my old friend deplored the fact that 

 the later development of the Brahma was not 

 on Indian rather than Cochin lines, contending 

 that with lighter plumage and activity of form 

 the genuine utility properties of the breed would 

 have been preserved. 



During this period it was that Mr. Wright, 

 on the pressing request of Mr. James Long, 

 took his first and last judging engagement. 

 The occasion was the Plymouth Show, and 

 history has it that the .sponsor of the judge 

 was amongst the keenest of his critics after 

 the awards were made. It was not this, how- 

 ever, which deterred Mr. Wright from accepting 

 the numerous judging engagements which were 

 subsequently pressed upon him ; but the feel- 

 ing that the exercise of judicial functions was 

 inconsistent with his hobby as a breeder and 

 an exhibitor, and, later on, his duties as a 

 reporter and editor. Whilst on the subject of 

 reporting, it is interesting to note that prob- 

 ably the first detailed report given of a 

 poultry show was from Mr. Wright's pen, and 

 appeared in The Journal 0/ Horticulture, from 

 which paper its author held a sort of retaining 

 brief conditional upon his sending its then 

 editor, Mr. Johnson, such notes as he might 

 consider of interest. Needless to say, the des- 

 criptive report caught on, though, with the 

 multitude of shows now held, it has added enor- 

 mously to the difficulties of the Fancy Press. 



Towards the close of the 'sixties a series 

 of articles on poultry-keeping was appearing in 

 Cassell's Family Paper, the unprac- 

 Evolution of tical and unreliable nature of which 

 "The Book j ..u ■ r ^u • ^- 



of Poultry" roused the ire ot our enthusiastic 



fancier. The papers were principally 

 translations of a French work full of many since 

 exploded myths as to the gigantic systems of 

 poultry-farming then existent (?) in France, and 

 the huge profits to be reaped from an English 

 imitation of the same. Mr. Wright drew Messrs. 

 Cassell's attention to the danger of such articles, 

 and the outcome of the matter was his writing 

 for them "The Practical Poultry Keeper," a 

 handy, concise little work, of which nearly ninety 

 thousand copies have been sold. This book 

 was followed by " The Brahma Fowl," a masterly 

 treatise on that breed, with coloured plates, 

 which ran through several editions. The appre- 

 ciation of this latter work was such that many 

 requests were received from fanciers for similar 

 monographs on each of the then known varieties 

 of poultry, and from this seed afterwards sprang 

 its author's best known work, " The Book of 

 Poultry." 



Meanwhile, despite literary and business dis- 

 tractions, the birds were not neglected, for Mrs. 



Wright developed into a keen fancier, 

 Success as ^ntl SO proved a true helpmate to 

 a Breeder her husband in his hobby. Even at 



Kingsdown space was very limited, 

 only 60 ft. by 30 ft. being available, and hence 

 assistance had often to be asked to run young 

 stock, which otherwise lacked that exhibition 

 bloom almost unattainable without a good grass 

 run. Indeed, it was not until, in 1872, Mr. 

 Wright removed to London, and at his Crouch 

 End residence rejoiced in a good garden and 

 a run of about an acre, that he was able to 

 fairly do justice to his dark Brahmas. That 

 year saw the cockerel, Favourite No. 3, win 

 first and cup at both Palace and Birmingham, 

 to be claimed at the latter show by Mr. 

 Manbyfor the substantial sum of ^30. Though 

 never a frequent exhibitor, confining his entries 

 generally to the Palace, Birmingham, Bristol, 

 and Bath and West of England Society's shows, 

 the rage for high-class Brahmas was then so 

 strong that for some seasons Mr. Wright found 

 his sittings of eggs booked for weeks ahead at 



