154 



JOUKNAL OF HOKTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ February 24, 1870. 



I will only add now that I wish your Swansea or Leicester correspon- 

 dent would "hand over to me, instead of to the guillotine, those m- 

 capables which cannot fly more than four hours at four months old, as 

 my hest never kept up more than two and half or three hours, generally 

 only one and a hall'. — W] 



PIGEONS AT THE WOLVERHAMPTON SHOW. 



(/•>< m • ' 

 Altogetheh 103 pens in ten classes, with scarcely a bad pen 

 amongst them. The arrangi mints were good, and the pens large and 

 clean. I was rorrj a] gentlemen were disqualified for 



trimming. (Why were the canse not published ?) 



I.— Mr. Knlton was first, with a fine pair of Almonds, per- 

 fect in feather, head, stop, and bill. Mr. Fielding was second, with a 

 pair of Almonds, deficient in stop, and the hens poor in colour. Mr. 

 Graham was highly commended and commended for Black and Silver 

 Balds respectively". Mr. Fielding was disqualified with a pair of 

 Black Mottles. 



.—Mr. Fnlton was again first, with a very good pair of 

 Blacks ; and Mr. White second, with moderate Duns, the same 

 gentleman having a pair of Blacks, "left ont in the cold," far su- 

 perior to his second-prize birds. A pair of Blacks, which was highly 

 commended, ought to have keen entered in the Dragoon class. What 

 a judge could see in these I know not. Mr. Siddons exhibited two 

 pairs in this class which by some mistake wero wrongly penned. A 

 Black and Dun were put in each pen. Had they been penned aright, 

 the Duns would most certainly have gained a prize. Several pairs of 

 Blues were also exhibited. This was a good class. 



.—Only four entries, Mr. Fulton winning both prizes ; the 

 first with Blues, and the second with Blacks. The other pair were 

 Whites. , , 



Fantails. — Mr. Tomlinson first, and Mr. Yardley second. Both of 

 the winning pens were Whiles. Unquestionably the second-prize pair 

 were far superior, having the hest tails and carriage. 



Antwerps. — Mr. J. Bradley was first, with a nice pair of Duns, good 

 in style, character, bead, and colour ; Mr. Bemrose being Eecond, with 

 a pair of Bed (?) Cheqners, badly matched, and thin-billed, the cock 

 being light-headed and open-throated, the hen dark-headed and frilled. 

 Both birds were flaky— that is, the red running into the white in the 

 chequer. Such a pair of birds a Birmingham fancier would consider 

 not worth the peas they er.t. Mr. Yardley was highly commended for 

 a pair of Dun's, the hen certainly the best of her sex in the class ; 

 exception must be taken to the flat bead of the ceck. An Antwerp 

 ought to be barrel-headed and throated. Mr. Fox showed a pair that 

 should have been disqualified, as the cock had a frill cut out down his 

 chest. 



Dragoons.— This was a good class, consisting of all the recognised 

 colours. Mr. Graham was first, with a pair of Blues, good in colour 

 and bill, but far too coarse in skull. The same gentleman was second 

 with Yellows, in splendid condition. Mr. Yardley exhibited by far the 

 best pair of Dragoons in the class — good character, long, straight, and 

 narrow-headed, though badly matched, the hen being white-rumped, 

 and the cock blue. 



Jacobins. — Miss Easten was first, with a nice pair of Beds ; colour, 

 frill, hood, and condition good. They were large in the body, which 

 gave them a very coarse appearance. Mr. Yardley was second, with 

 a neat pair of Yellows. 



Trumpeters. — Only four entries. Mr. Fulton was first, with a pair 

 of Mottles ; the hen very gay and white-flighted ; also second with a 

 pair of Blacks. Every bird in this class had the feathers drawn from 

 the centre of the rose. 



Owls. — Mr. Fielding was first, with a beautiful pair of Whites, Mr. 

 Dove second, with a pair of Blues, having only colour to recommend 

 them ; Mr. Fielding and Mr. Fulton both showing far superior birds. 

 This was a splendid class. 



The " Any other variety " class was the largest one in the show, 

 numbering twenty-three pens, including Barbs, Swallows, Labores, 

 German Toys, Turbits, and Nuns. Mr. Yardley was first, with good 

 Black Barbs ; Mr. Creswell second, with a remarkable pair of good- 

 coloured Bed Turbits, perfect in cap and frill, but far too large in 

 body. Mr. Fielding was third, with a pair of Black Barbs. Mr. 

 Wyllie was disqualified for Yellow Swallows plucked on the bead. 



The entries of Pigeons have not increased in number as I expected 

 they would have done, after three classes had been added to the 

 schedule. Why is this ? Is it because the Committee have raised 

 the entry fee Is. per pen, and not increased the prize money ? Are 

 not Pigeons self -supporting at shows ? 



BREEDING PAROQUETS. 



Seeing in your issue of the lOlk inst. some questions respect- 

 ing the breeding of Budgiigars, or Australian Grass Paro- 

 quets, I beg to inform Mr. Baker that numbers of these birds 

 are bred here every year. They invariably lay about Christ- 

 mas, and sometimes have three or four nesta in the season. 

 They have been known to hatch in an ordinary breeding cage, 

 although the majority of the cases which I have known have 



occurred in largo aviary cages. The markings in the young 

 ones are much less distinct than in their parente. — H. Thos. 

 Kelsey. 



THE CRYSTAL PALACE CANARY SHOW. 

 I ELITE been to the Palace Sbow once more. I don't wish it to be 

 generally known, for somehow or other you know people will make 

 unpleasant remarks ; but I was there. 



The way it came to pass was something in this wise — I didn't intend 

 to go ; indeed, I thought I had fully made up my mind not to go. 

 The night mail, the only available train for me. leaves here at 6.50, 

 and after tea I settled myself in my easy chair, most devoutly wishing 

 the pointer? of my timepiece would travel faster and put it out of my 

 power to change my mind. How slowly they travelled, and with what 

 a mocking, aggravating tick the pendulum chopped off the seconds 

 one by one ! I had lighted my pipe, and, watt-Ling the rising circles 

 of smoke, my thoughts strayed away to the fairyland at Sydenham, 

 and being only a frail mortal, I wished I was there. I really did. 

 But Mr. Young wasn't going, and Mr. Shiel wasn't going, and nobody 

 was going, and, of course, I wasn't going. I tola my wife so, but she 

 laughed, actually laughed at me! And in such , too! 



Then she went quietly on with her work, while the timepiece stared at 

 me and ticked out a disjointed chuckle ! But I smoked on ; neither 

 my wife nor the clod; knew me as well as I knew myself. I was not 

 going, not I ! I blew denser clouds of smoke, fragrant with incense of 

 Latakia, obscuring the face of the hateful chronometer, which seemed 

 to be ticking a duet with my wife's thimble. ''Mamma.' I said, 

 "you would jperhaps, hardly believe it, but if anyone were to pay my 

 expenses to London, I don't think I would go." " No," ahe replied. 

 "I hardly sltould believe it, ' and then she gave a quiet cough and 

 continued the duet with the clock. I thought it might have been the 

 smoke which caused the cough. Perhaps 11 



A ring at the front-doorbell! It was too I postman. 



Who could it be ? What did it matter to me ? I felt calm, but some- 

 thing told me a crisis was approaching. The thimble took a few bars 

 rest while the clock ticked a solo. 



" Will you walk into my parlour ? s.-.id the spider to the fly." 

 "Papa! Mr. Young wants to see you, and — and — and — there's a 

 cab at the door." Another cough ! I felt certain that the smoke had 

 nothing to do with that one. Glancing at the clock I saw it had 

 ticked away to such good purpose that it was now too late to think oi 

 leaving by "the G.50, even if I had been disposed, which I wasn't, and 

 I saluted my friend with all the self-satisfaction of the man who does 

 a wise thing when he has no alternative. 



And so we sat on either side of the fire. And wasn't it natural 

 that we should talk about what was uppermost in our minds ? Of 

 course it was. And didn't I, well knowing it was nearly seven o'clock, 

 make great boast of my strength of mind in resisting the allurements 

 of Sydenham ? Certainly I did. And didn't I feel all my great 

 purpose oozing out at my fingers' ends, supplemented with a frantic 

 desire to embrace my friend, when he hinted in the most delicate 

 wav possible, that there was a train from Newcastle at 11.23 ! Alas I 

 for the frailty of human strength. I did. Little remains to be told, 

 except that when I rejoined my wife, she and the pendulum and the 

 thimble had managed by some land of intuition to fathom the object 

 of my friend's call, and there lay my clean shirts, and collars, and 

 handkerchiefs with pink "W. A. B.V in the corners, all ready for 

 the 11.23. 



When I was a lad I was under a tutor who taught his boys to walk 

 about with both eyes wide open, and encouraged us to cultivate an 

 intimate acquaintance with Nature ; and whether it was a dormouse 

 or a chemical chest, wild flowers, birds' eggs, butterflies, fossils, or 

 hairy caterpillars (which we used to race on our desks for slate pencil, 

 and put in the French master's hat), there were few boys who had not 

 a hobby of some kind. We used to do some pretty things in the way 

 of crystals with alum, and very interesting it was to watch the pro- 

 cess ; but Jack Frost's manipulations on the windows of the car- 

 riages of that 11.23 train were marvels of crystallography. My 

 friend, the man in the moon, danced about behind the leafless trees, 

 laid wait for us as we emerged from long tunnels, looked over the 

 ridges of deep cuttings, and tried all he knew to get a peep at us. 

 rolled up like two mummies, but it was of no use. Our bedroom 

 windows were covered with blinds woven in a pattern no human 

 fingers could trace, worked by subtle agencies in obedience to laws 

 framed by a Wisdom "past finding out." 



A few minutes at York, which I spent in silent attention to a tongue 

 (avoid " bones " and much speech when you have only ten railway 

 minutes for supper), and we were off again. The moon had been 

 waiting outside the station, and kept up with us to Peterborough, where 

 it helped to collect the tickets, and walked boldly into our carriage, 

 saluting us as personal friends, after which, I think, it went to bed, an 

 example I was nothing loth to follow on arriving at King's Cross, as 

 the Show was not to be opened till 12 o'clock. 



I paid an early flying visit to the office of " our Journal," but the 

 Editors had not yet arrived. I was very heartily welcomed by a large 

 black-and-white cat, which was waiting at the door either for me or 

 the milkman. He rubbed himself against my new black trousers in 

 the most familiar way, and said as plain as a cat could say, "Very 

 L glad to see you — can smell you are in the small-bird fine — more in 



