March 10, 1870 ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



highly commended ; hens, silver cup ; Portsmouth, one pen, first. 

 These are the only places, and I think I may fairly say that 

 even for exhibition purposes I have kept Polands successfully. I 

 am not quite certain, but I rather believe, that one of our best 

 exhibitors of this variety of fowl keeps large numbers in an old 

 factory ; such a place, with plenty of light, I should like to have. 

 The difficulty of insect food can be overcome ; green food can 

 be given ; gravel and sawdust are capital materials to scratch in, 

 and the birds will always be clean. 



_ One other hint I may give to thoso who wish to try Polsnds — 

 give them such a drinking fountain that thev can only just get 

 the beak into the water, take care that the sides of the fountain 

 are not wet, or in drinking the topknot is wetted and dirt will 

 stick to it. Then I do not advise tying up the topknot with 

 indiarubber bands, &c. ; the bird resents it, and so should we, 

 I apprehend, if our polls were tied up in the same way ; so they 

 scratch away lill it is cither released or drops to the roots of the 

 feathers, where it only doe3 more harm than go.d. Moreover, 

 the scratching is performed so vigorously, that often the sides 

 of the face are terribly injured. Had I 'th? means of allowing 

 my Polands to run out, I would make it a rule to confine them 

 in wet weather. Wet makes dirt, and a little knob of mud at 

 the end of each feather of the topknot pulls down and alters the 

 natural shape of this distinctive mark of the Polands. I confess 

 to a dislike of the anterior feathers of the crest falling forward ; 

 and I like a certain stiffness in the whole crest which makes the 

 central feathers stand straight up, and not fall to either side. 

 This prevents the crest from having a flattened appearance on 

 the top, which I consider decidedly objectionable. 



As regards the rearing of Silver Poland chickens, I can quite 

 bear out Mr. Boothby's opinion that they are very hardy. If 

 they run with chickens of other breeds, they are apt to be bullied, 

 as the topknot often prevents their seeing the foe that attacks 

 them, and they run wildly about only to be more pecked, at 

 least if Malays are their companions. 



This brings me, in conclusion, to a few words on the Rev. A. 

 G. Brooke's remarks. I, also, believe the despised Malay is look- 

 ing up. I have had more inquiries for birds than I could supply, 

 and the inquirers were all new names to me. I hope any Show 

 that ventures to arrogate to itself the title of great will not 

 in future ignore their claims to a class. There were three 

 entries in the " variety class " at the Crystal Palace, where it 

 was almost certain the Malay would not be successful ; all were 

 highly commended. Tet the Great London Show offered three 

 prizes to the following varieties, with the following entries. 

 Duckwing Game hens, 5 entries ; White Cochin hens, 4 entries ; 

 Golden-spangled Hamburgh hens, 4 entries ; Silver-pencilled 

 Hamburgh cocks, 4 entries; Silver-pencilled hens, 4 entries; 

 Black Hamburgh cocks, 3 entries. If these various breeds are 

 entitled to classes on account of their entries, surely the Malay 

 is, and I venture to affirm that if the Great London Show Com- 

 mittee had had the proper feeling to make a class for Malays, 

 the entries would have certainly eclipsed the classes I mention. 

 May the Great London Show Committee make a note of this, and 

 do their duty better to Malays on another occasion, or mine 

 certainly shall not go for the benefit of Crystal Palace air. 



As interesting in the matter of Polands, I beg to add these few 

 remarks to my notes. At many shows, as has been remarked, 

 no class is given to them. Atthe Torquay and Western Counties 

 first Exhibition, where very liberal prizes were offered, Polands 

 mustered twenty-four pens — more strongly in fact than Cochins, 

 Cinnamon and Buff, 13 entries; Cochins, any other variety, 17 ; 

 Light Brahmas, 19; Spanish, 16; French fowls, 19 ; Spangled 

 Hamburghs, 23 ; Pencilled Hamburghs, 22 ; Any other variety 

 of Game, 20; Dorkings coloured, except Silver-Grey, 20. These 

 were the only classes where equal prizes were given, with the 

 exception of Red Game and Dark Brahmas, and these headed the 

 list with 33 and 26 entries. In these classes £7 10s. were 

 offered as prizes, and as the entries were 7s. 6d. per pen, it follows 

 that twenty entries were requisite to recoup the Committee for 

 their prizes. A glance will show that Red Game, Dark Brahmas, 

 and Polands, did this with a surplus, the latter variety, now so often 

 refused a class by Committees, being really the third best payer 

 to the Society's coffers. On receipt of their very liberal schedule, 

 I hastened to point out to the very obliging Hon. Secretary 

 that the class for "Any other variety" was wholly omitted. The 

 reply was " no funds ;" however, " second thoughts are best," as 

 the Committee wisely advertised this class, offering £6 10s. in 

 prizes. Twenty-eight entries were the result, bringing in £10 10s., 

 so that I do not think the Committee regret having followed my 

 suggestion, and I must confess that I have the additional satis- 

 faction in finding my name amongst the prizetakersin that class, 



which certainly should never be omitted from any schedule. — 

 Y. B. A. Z. 



WOLVERHAMPTON POULTRY SHOW. 



YorjR correspondent, in his criticism of the Pigeons at the above 

 Show, writes of the Trumpeters, " Every bird in this class had the 

 feathers drawn from the centre of the rose." Were I, as an exhibitor 

 of one of the pens, to allow this to pass unchallenged, it might be 

 thought I had suddenly changed my views respecting trimming, &c. 

 Permit me, therefore, to give to this assertion my most unequivocal 

 denial. I will go even farther, and affirm that not a single feather or 

 stump, of which there were several in the birds' feet, was drawn from 

 either bird previous to their arrival at the Hall. Whether the person 

 penning them performed the office of voluntary trimmer I cannot say ; 

 it is not probable. — Henry Yaughan, Wolvt rhamjpton. 



In answer to the remarks of Mr. Yariley in favour of Messrs. While, 

 Tomlinson, and Graham, I beg to say my notes were made after a 

 careful scrutiny of the birds, and were written without fear or favour to 

 anyone. I think it only fair that your readers should know that some 

 of the birds in question were sold by Mr. Yardley to the parties named. 

 — Your Correspondent. 



THE ANTWERP PIGEON. 

 I wrote yon some time ago asking you to publish in your 

 Journal a portrait of a "standard Antwerp," to be contribAed 

 by our Society, and you very kindly assented. We had a meet- 

 ing on the subject, and it was decided that all the members, 

 including also a non-member, should bring to' a special meeting 

 the best specimens they possessed. About twenty birds were 

 brought, including the two of Mr. Bradley's which appeared 

 in The Field, but without any hesitation it was decided by all 

 present, including Mr. Bradley, that my bird, the portrait 

 of which appeared in your Journal, of February 17th, was 

 certainly the best specimen ever seen. The only remark 

 elicited by Mr. Bradley was, that the bird would be "improved" 

 by making his throat below the under beak thicker, like that of 

 his old bird, which has appeared in The Field. That point I 

 consider quite detrimental, as the slender arched neck is far 

 more graceful, and I must confess that the bird represented 

 in the figure you have published is superior in this respeet, 

 and also slightly thicker in the upper mandible, which should 

 overlap the under mandible slightly. Taking it altogether, 

 and making due allowance for the difficulties of the artist and 

 the engraver, it is a very good specimen, rather underrating 

 the original, and this is admitted by Mr. Hewitt, who has 

 awarded to it the first prize, to the satisfaction of all com- 

 petitors at the last show of our Society. By mistake the bird 

 is represented with nine flight feathers below the feathers of 

 the second bar, but no Pigeon shows more than seven, and in- 

 cluding the first, which is covered by the second being the 

 longest, makes them in all eight. At the last Birmingham 

 Columbarian Society's Show, where, and where only, the birds 

 drawn from by your contemporary had anything like compe- 

 tition, they were unnoticed ; and as for the bird which won at 

 Glasgow, it is no more than an ordinary bird, being long and 

 thin-beaked, and quite out of place as a show bird. The two 

 birds, moreover, cannot be " specimens," because they are 

 described, the one as an old bird too heavy for exhibition, and 

 the other not matured yet. Being both deficient, what guides 

 can they be to those who wish to form an idea what a standard 

 Antwerp is? — H. Note, Birmingham. 



BIRMINGHAM ROLLERS-SKY TUMBLERS. 



In Birmingham, I am told, the flying Tumblers are not called 

 Sky Tumblers, but high-flyers simply ; and that the designa- 

 tion of Birmingham Rollers is applied indiscriminately to two 

 distinct classes of this Pigeon, the one a highflying class, and 

 the other a rolling class of birds. The high-flying class fly 

 high and long as a Sky Tumbler, and tumble but now and 

 then, sometimes single, and at other times double (called a 

 roll), whereas the rolling class soar only to roll down again 

 in a succession of tumbles, like a rope of onions. 



The high-flyers (Rollers), I am told, are a crossbreed between 

 the pure Roller, whatever that bird is, and the ordinary Long- 

 faced, or our common Tumbler, the Beards and Balds included. 

 Hence the broken Balds, semi-Beards, and Pied birds, that 

 distinguish the high-flying Roller class. The object of the 

 cross in reference, is the flying of the Tumbler with the rolling 

 of the Roller combined, and the latter propensity modified, as 



