06 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ January 31, MOT. 



be no question to every straightforward mind that the practice 

 is most dishonest. It is not only, as in your note to " Ex- 

 hibitok's " letter, obtaining money under false pretences, but 

 it is a robbery of the honour that but for the borrowed birds 

 would go to other pens. — Y. B. A. Z. 



POULTRY IN CONFINED SPACE. 

 In a Letter Box notice in the Journal of December 4th, Mr. 

 J. R. Beyton asks if my eight hens have any run attached to 

 my house 12 feet by 6. To this I reply, None whatever. The 

 open part is partly paved, and partly covered with gravel, drift- 

 sand, and mortar rubbish ; and they have a dust bath, about 

 18 inches square, covered so as to prevent its becoming wet. I 

 give them green food whenever I can obtain it. — S. G. J. 



BPjVHMA POOTRAS at the BRISTOL SHOW 



In my " Dottings " at Bristol I endeavoured to give my own 

 impressions without favour or personal bias one way or the 

 other. Many may differ from those remarks, and every one 

 has a right to his own opinion. I never meant to make re- 

 marks unkindly or unfairly, and I confess myself somewhat 

 surprised at the tone of Mr. Wright's reply. 



I do not consider that " I virtually questioned the decision." 

 To the best of my recollection, and I write from recollection, 

 I said that the chicken class generally of Dark Brahmas was 

 inferior. The Judges, I think, agreed with me, for in a large 

 class they gave no commendation beyond the prize pens. Then 

 I said that Mr. Wright's pen was poorly feathered. This is 

 just a inatter of opinion — I consider the birds very decidedly so. 

 Mr. Wright does not. Well, we simply differ in what we deem 

 heavy feathering ; but I think if any impartial person examined 

 the feathering in this pen and that of Mr. Boyle's single Brahma 

 cock he would consider Mr. Wright's birds poorly feathered ; at 

 any rate, I must adhere to my own idea about them. As 

 regards Mr. Boyle's second-prize pen, the breasts of the pullets 

 certainly did not match. 



Mr. Wright then praises Messrs. Hewitt and Douglas as 

 " eminent judges." In this I perfectly coincide with him, 

 and I am quite willing to abide by their opinion of the mo- 

 derate vulture hock, as evidenced by their decisions in the 

 Cochin classes. I have stated in my "Dottings" that Mr. 

 Cattell's Cochin cock was too much so, even to please me ! 

 Whether my adherence to moderate vulture hock has " nearly 

 ruined my own yard and some others crossed from it," I can- 

 not say. My chickens of 1866 were not often exhibited, but in 

 every case where they were shown as chickens they obtained 

 notice. This does not look like "ruin" to my own yard; and 

 as regards "others crossed from it," I happened to see the 

 yards of one person last year who, two or three years back, 

 crossed extensively from my yard. I admired his pullets ex- 

 ceedingly, and I have heard Mr. Wright say how much he ad- 

 mired them. The gentleman's reply to my admiration was to 

 the effect that he owed it to me. So much for the ruin of 

 other yards ! 



Lastly, Mr. Wright says, " ' Y. B. A. Z. ' had made several 

 eatried, and it was a subject of general inquiry why he did not 

 send his birds." Surely the anxiety on this point was jocular. 

 Mr. Wright knows quite enough of Brahmas to be convinced that 

 no "perfect pen " was likely to be exhibited at the price (£2), at 

 ■which my pens were entered in the old and chicken classes, and 

 if he and others really wish to know why I did not send them, 

 I r6p'.V, I had sold the cockerel from one pen, and one of the 

 hens from the other. His last paragraph on my pens runs thus 

 — " A single cock he did send, but the bird had the misfortune 

 to remain unnoticed." Well, I am free to confess that I con- 

 sidered this unnoticed bird deserved the second prize, and I 

 will go further and say that I would not exchange him for any 

 other bird in the class save the first-prize bird. I am so tied 

 to work that I have not the opportunities Mr. Wright enjoys of 

 seeing other birds and comparing mine with them. During 

 1866 I never attended a single show, and I willingly allow that 

 this pondering over one's own stock alone is disadvantageous ; 

 but this is my misfortune, not my fault. Had I seen my 

 single cock bird in a pen before, he would not have been sent 

 tJ Bristol. He does not show hims,elf off, and is cowed — in 

 fact, he is frightened ; under such cii-cumstanees no bird can 

 look well, yet he was certainly the shortest-legged bird in the 

 class, and of very good colour. Mr. Wright does not add of 

 this " unnoticed " bird, that when he saw him in my yard a few 



weeks before he admired him exceedingly, and would willingly 

 have purchased him if I had been so disposed, in spite of the 

 " ruin " that my stock seems to produce. 1 must also add 

 that, as I understood Mr. Wright, he paid me the complinlent 

 of saying that he preferred my cocks to tViose of Mr. Boyle, 

 and that he should like to breed from Mr. Boyle's pullets and 

 the identical " unnoticed " Bristol bird ! — Y. B. A. Z. 



WALSALL POULTRY and PIGEON EXHIBITION. 



It is but rarely wg have to record such an extraordinary amount of 

 success as that wliich attended the second Show held under the auspices 

 of the local Committee of Walsall, on the 2Gth, 2Sth, and 29th inst. 

 Nothing has been omitted that possihly could ho done to seeore 

 success to the undertaldng, and the whole of the Committee have 

 worked together most harmoniously. Where such is the case success 

 is almost certain, more especially, as in the case of Walsall, when 

 everything is carried out fairly, openly, and abovehoard. There are 

 committees, though few, to whom the experience of the Walsall 

 management might prove a benefit, for they not only candidly acknow- 

 ledged on the printed catalogues who were the Patrons, ttc.. of the 

 Exhihition. hut also the names of the Committee themselves ; and 

 to this, no doubt, could easily be traced public confiJeuce as regardfl 

 the indiiiduals responsilde for the payment of the very liberal prizes 

 offered. In this case, however, where all was so fairly laid open 

 to the inspection of the public, but little hesitation could esist. for 

 the Committee determined to carry out to the very letter the arrange- 

 ments as organised. The whole of the prizes were paid on the spot 

 to any party identified at the Show as a muuer, and the remainder 

 of the prize money was sent to absentees through the Secretary of 

 the Show as soon as possible. The cups were of sterling silver — 

 could not some few committees take warning from the last two words ? 

 — and these were reserved for public inspection until the close of the 

 Show, to be then at once remitted to the successful persons who 

 throngh so severe a competition had merited and secured them. They 

 cost the Committee every farthing nett cash of the wholesale price 

 affixed to them ; and we may -mth confidence add, many times have 

 we seen cups of reputedly some two or three sovereigns' additional 

 value given as prizes, of but little if any better than oue-half the value 

 of the Walsall cups, whether considered as to their intrinsic or artistic 

 worth. We have only to add our earnest hope that for very many 

 years the successful may enjoy the use of these most oruamentsd 

 appendages to their social boards ; and that even when they themselves 

 are numbered among the past, these cups may still remain eridenceg 

 of the energy and the success of the winners. 



A short remark or two may here be made as to the principle carried 

 oat in respect to the catalogues and prize lists of the Walsall Show ; — 

 The names of all parties responsible either for the payment of *iie 

 prizes or the appointment of them were made known. The result 

 was, that at a second show only, 836 pens were brought together, re- 

 presenting almost every principal breeder's yard, not only in our own 

 country-, but even in "the Sister Isle. It is evident, therefore, that 

 openness and straightforwardness of conduct in poultry shows secures 

 public confidence, whilst the contrary invariably causes distrust and 

 dissatisfaction. 



From the absence of the birds of several of our principal Dorking 

 breeders, owing to the injury done to the health of their respective 

 yards by the late severe weather, the Dorlciiigs were not so good as 

 might be supposed from the entries, as frost-bitten birds were general. 

 Still, although we regretted to find many first-rate pens, though entered 

 here, could not be sent, the class was generally good. The Spaniah 

 were first-rate, and an entry of forty-three pens in this class, with only 

 a pen or two not present, proves winning in this branch was not an 

 easy matter. The pens of every principal breeder were present, and 

 the deteriorated condition of not a few pens was attributable exclu- 

 sively to over-frequent exhibition, a feature now likely to be with- 

 drawn on account of the nearly-closed exhibition season. This is so 

 far well, as birds brought down to a very low standard by excessive 

 exhibition in the first months of the year, rarely breed well during the 

 subsequent season. Cochins were first-rate, and, perhaps, there was 

 not a single pen in the whole Exhibition more deserving of special 

 distinction than the winning Partridge-coloured ones. The hen in 

 this pen was certainly fairly worth a journey of many miles to look 

 upon, being perfection. Buff Cochins were all good ; those consti- 

 tuting the second-prize pen were, as stated by the Judge, decidedly 

 the best in the class but for the severely frost-bitten comb of the cock. 

 From inquiry we find the owner, who as an old exhibitor we have 

 hitherto given credit for being more experienced in such casualties, 

 placed, after washing for the Walsall Show, the old cock near the fire 

 to dry, with strict directions " to see that he did not become over- 

 heated." His subordinate, promising strict obedience, first took posses- 

 sion of the post of trust, lighted his pipe immediately after his employer's 

 back was turned, and at length woke up to find to his own annoyance 

 the cock's comb blistered from the sndden application of heat, and his 

 master angry at such a neglect of duty. We may here mention, as our 

 own anxious desire is to forewarn all other exhibitors, that in all casts 

 of frost-bite, snow, snow water, or the coldest pump water, is the bett 

 application to restore vitality. Fire-warmth is the most dangerous of 

 aU applications, and should not in any case be resort^^d to. Jirakmas 



