110 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ February 10, 1870. 



fault of tho committee at the show sending off a class of birds 

 together, instead of the entries of certain individuals together ; 

 but in "E. M. B. A.'s " case, I am certain the injury must have 

 arisen from gross carelessness, and surely is amenable to 

 County Court influence, especially if, as on the Great Western 

 Railway, you are treated to a 50 per cent, extra. 



Exhibiting borrowed birds is so manifestly unjust that I 

 think any exhibitor detected should be utterly disqualified 

 from competition at any show. I am disposed to think that 

 any such gross fraud as that perpetrated at the Whitehaven 

 Show ought to meet with similar treatment, at least, for a 

 limited time, and in the case of borrowing, both parties ought 

 to receive equal punishment. It takes a large amount to 

 "choke-off" some people; the Whitehaven expose was tole- 

 rably complete, only some persons are so thick in tho cuticle, 

 they do not appear to feel that which is crushing to others. 

 I am delighted to find that you think such a course advisable, 

 and I shall hail with delight the first schedule that has the 

 courage to print such a rule amongst their regulations.' — 

 Y. B. A. Z. 



CUPS FOR LIGHT BRAHMA POOTRAS, 



It is proposed by the Light Brahma fanciers to get up two 

 subscription cups instead of one for the next Southampton 

 Show. As this Show has done so much for the Light Brahmas 

 by, for tho last two or three years, biinging together the finest 

 collections of chickens that have ever been seen, it is hoped 

 that this call will be liberally responded to. Already four 

 exhibitors have promised a guinea each without being asked, 

 thereby setting a most praiseworthy example. If all those who 

 are interested in the culture of Light Brahmas will come for- 

 ward, no doubt much more will be done than has ever yet been 

 attempted. 



It is admitted by all that there is plenty of room for improve- 

 ment in birds of this beautiful variety, even to plac3 them on the 

 same standing as their darker and plaiuer brethren. I hope 

 the Dark Brabma fanciers will not be offended at this remark 

 on their favourites. All that is wanted in the Lights is greater 

 weight and heavier feathering, and as this can only be attained 

 by greater attention to their breeding, induced by greater 

 prizes and heavier cups, I hope that many will prove their 

 real interest in the matter in the best way, by a liberal dona- 

 tion, which will be thankfully received by — H. M. Mayhakd, 

 Holmcwcod, Jlyde, I.W. 



GAME FOWLS. 

 I entirely dissent from "Newmarket's" disparagement of 



the exhibition Game birds of the period. I feel astonished that 

 any breeder of Game who has had the opportunity of observing 

 the gradual development of this noble bird from the bull-necked, 

 short-legged, mismaiked old English Game bird, undertakes to 

 draw a comparison prejudicial to the present type. It must ho 

 obvious to evm\ Game fancier that by crossing we have obtained 

 richer-coloured plumage, length of neck and leg, symmetry and 

 contour of the bird. The examples pointed out by " New- 

 market" as the result of tke Malay cross are not the rule, but 

 the exception. From being penned and pampered in so many 

 ways, exhibition birds are not so hardy as the old type, but this 

 is merely the result of circumstances. My experience has led 

 me to a different conclusion from '"Newmarket's" in regard to 

 the "pluck" of exhibition birds, as I have frequently tested 

 them with cockpit birds, and have found them quite up to the 

 average in point of gameness. 



As regards the Brown Reds with "Malay willow legs," I 

 think you must have them all in the south, as"l have never seen 

 any here, and I do not believe that so far north as this (Sunder- 

 land), any man would commit himself by sending " willow- 

 legged " Brown Reds to compete at an exhibition. — Brown Red. 



EXHIBITION PENS. 



I am glad to find that other exhibitors besides myself are 

 alarmed at the new style of pen which i3 coming in. The wire 

 pens at the Crystal Palace Show were certainly large enongh, 

 hut they might have been quite as large and quite as good 

 without exposing the birds not only to injury from the damage 

 done to the feathers, but also to the risks arising from their 

 fighting with each other through the wires. Few exhibitors, 

 probably, have considered how much birds suffer from the loss 

 of their tail feathers. To replace them an effort is required 



which mu3t cause a considerable drain upon the system, and 

 this drain must affect both their condition and their weight. 

 I could not but regret to observe that the noble bird which 

 won the second place among the Djikiug cockerels at Birming- 

 ham, and was deservedly placed first at Ciiiton, received a 

 high commendation only at Sydenham. The judges, I have 

 no doubt, were right in not awarding him a higher position; 

 for his condition was not what it had been, and hit tail feathers 

 were imperfect; some of them had disappeared, and some were 

 broken. I hear, too, on good authority that the judges find the 

 difficulty of making their awards increased by the new pens. 

 They siy that tho light streaming through the wires behind 

 prevents them from examining and comparing birds so care- 

 fully and completely as is the case when the backs are closed 

 and not open. This, let me say, 13 not a suggestion of my 

 own ; it is the opinion of a judge who has tried the new pens, 

 and found them wanting. I trust, then, that committees, now 

 that the competition in the wsy of pens is 60 gieat, and that 

 they can obtain pretty well what they like, will courier the 

 question that has been raised, and will eschew pens which 

 have open wire backs es well as fronts.— E. M. B. A. 



LOSS FROM POULTRY-KEEPING. 



As a return for the pleasure derived from others, I copy the 

 following from my poultry memoranda for 1809 : — Number of 

 birds in January, nineteen ; in March, number reduced by 

 deaths, cause not known, to sixteen; April, three sold to make 

 way for growinglchickenB ; number remaining, thiiteen; num- 

 ber of chickens reared, twenty-four ; this out of seven sittings. 

 More were hatched but gave up the effort of living before the 

 first week was out. Number of eggs during the year, 910. 

 Value of eggs, £3 10s., value of fowls and chickens £1 12s. 9d., 

 total value, £5 2s. 9rf. Cost of poultry for the year, not in- 

 cluding vegetables from the garden, £5 13s. ( Jd. Deducting the 

 value, £5 2s. 9<2., the loss has been lis. 



In justice to the poultry, I must say they are usually con- 

 fined in a sunless yard. Their days out are few in number, 

 generally when the frost has hardened, or the snow covered np 

 the soil ; yet they give, if not profit, much pleasure.— 3 1. 



PROFITABLE POULTRY-KEEPING. 



In reply to a private correspondent, the food I especially 

 give my fowls is barley, barleymeal, and Indian corn ; they 

 occasionally have a meal of boiled rice, mixed with barley- 

 meal. I tried boiled potatoes mixed with barleymeal, but that 

 they did not like. During the short winter dcys I only fed them 

 twice a-day, hut in summer those in a limited space three 

 times a-day, and I gave a good supply of lettuces. I consider 

 fowls to do really well should have es much food as they can 

 readily eat at each meal, never leaving any about; by watching 

 this you will soon learn about the quantity they require. 

 Those which I have, that are allowed their full liberty, have not 

 been so fed, as I trusted to their picking up a good deal. In 

 last week's Journal you will see the profits of " A. W." are far 

 greater than mine, probably from better feeding, as the cost of 

 food for his six amounted to £12 0s. 2d. ; the food for my 

 sevent;, -six to £21 13s. 2\d. This year I have commenced by 

 more liberal feeding, with the following result:— January, 

 1869, from seventy-two fowl3, 211 eggs; January, 1870, from. 

 fifty-one fowls, 209.— M. E. 



PORTSMOUTH POULTRY, PIGEON, AND BIRD 

 SHOW. 



CohbiSED with poultry and Pigeons, (he Portsmouth Committee 

 this year offered liberal prizes for Cage Birds and Rabbits, and thus 

 secured the attendance of a very large number of visitors to their Show, 

 held ou the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd inst. The number of entries showed so 

 great an increase on that of last year that the Volunteers' Drill Hall 

 was selected as the most suitable building for the display of so great a 

 variety of specimens ; but if the increase be as great another year, 

 even its extensive room will not afford suLoeient accommodation. The 

 arrangements were unusually good, and the pens belonging to Mr. 

 Billett, of Southampton, showed off the specimens to the greatest 

 advantage. These pens, giving sufficient room for the larger kind of 

 poultry to move about, are a great improvement ; each pen for Geese 

 or Turkeys being 3 feet 6 inches long by o feet high, and the same in 

 depth. The Dorkings, Brahmas, and Cochins had also roomy pens. 



Many of the Guy <' ■ * r<< mo-t pnii-e-vorthy, and so were 



the Light Brahmas generally ; but the Dark Brahmas were not so, 

 excepting the few prize pens. Spanish were most meritorious, and the 



