268 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ April 7, 1870. 



me to suggest tbat committees insert in their schedules, " that 

 if any fowl be found to have been tampered with, it shall be 

 sold by auction, and the proceeds of the sale go to the benefit 

 of the society ; and, should the owner have other pens, that 

 they all be disqualified." — A Loteb of Faib Play. 



THE PRIZES OFFERED AT THE LAUNCESTON 

 AND BARNSTAPLE SHOWS. 

 Permit me to make a few remarks respecting the prize 

 schedules of two rising shows — viz., Launceston and Barn- 

 staple, which are shortly to take place, and perhaps if the 

 Honorary Secretaiies and Committees would reconsider the 

 matter, as in the case of a suggestion which was carried out at 

 Torquay, something might be done to apportion the prizes, or 

 arrange one or two classes, in a somewhat different manner. 



To take Launceston first, there are eighteen classes for fowls 

 alone, and one class is supposed to be sufficient for Cochins, 

 whereas a separate class is given to White Dorkings, four classes 

 to Hamburghs, and one to Barndoor fowls. This appears to me 

 a great mistake. Again, there is no class for fowls of "Any 

 variety," nor for single cocks or hens. Now, as the prizes are 

 of about the same value as those offered at Plymouth, or say a 

 little less, and Plymouth may fairly be considered a greater show 

 than Launceston can pretend to be, I will show that by com- 

 parison the entries for the above classes will not warrant their 

 being established. At Plymouth, Dorkings had one class with 

 only thirteen entries, including, if I mistake not, but one or 

 two pens of White at most. Cochins had two classes with 

 seventeen entries, including first-rate Buff and Partridge, and 

 very fair White. The " Any variety " class brought twelve fine 

 pens, and single cocks seventeen pens. Each of these classes 

 received but £1 15s. in prizes, and yet they filled well. On the 

 other hand, Barndoor fowls brought six pens only, and these 

 were so inferior that the first and third prizes were withheld ; 

 and Hamburghs (two classes) brought twenty-five entries, which 

 would never warrant four classes in any of our Devon and 

 Cornwall shows. In fact, at Torquay Hamburghs were con- 

 fined to two claBses, and although White Dorkings were coupled 

 with Silver, they only brought five entries, two only of which, 

 I believe, were White. 



Barnstaple issues even a more strange schedule : there are 

 twenty classes, seventeen of which have only two prizes — £1 

 and 10s. The " Anv variety" class has four prizes — 20s., 15s., 

 10s., and 5s.; and Bantams two classes — each 20s., 15s , and 

 10s. This arrangement is, to say the least, novel. Bantams 

 are mere in request, perhaps, in North Devon. Here, too, 

 Cochins have one class only, Brahmas the same, and Dorkings 

 are restricted to Coloured ; whereas Hamburghs, again, have 

 four ; Malay or Indian Game ; Minorcas ; and AndaluBian, Blue 

 or Blue Pill ; each a separate class. Is the poultry fancy de- 

 clining into a mere demand for fancy fowls or birds of feather, 

 or why are those fine breeds Cochins, Brahmas, and Dorkings so 

 discouraged by limitation ? If the funds admit, by all means 

 have every variety classed ; if not, I hope the above breeds will 

 not be curtailed to make room for classes which will be a sham, 

 and not pay for half the prizes. I may observe that neither 

 at Torquay nor Taunton have Malays, Minorcas, or Andalusians 

 classes to themselves. In fact, at Torquay the whole of these 

 breeds did not muster ten pens. 



I quite agree with your correspondent " Creve-Cceur," and 

 hope in future that labels with an eye at each end will be used ; 

 the convenience I can testify would be very great. — James 

 Lonq. 



CLASSIFICATION OF BELGIAN CANARIES. 



In reply to Mr. Holmes's notes of 17th March, I beg to say 

 that my notice of the Crystal Palace Canary Show was not 

 intended as a criticism on the schedule, but as a review of the 

 Show, and therefore I cannot be supposed to have " omitted 

 a very important case " in not pointing out defects, real or 

 fancied, in the schedule. 



The subject of correct classification is one to which I have 

 more than once called the attention of the " fancy " in the 

 pages of this Journal. It seems to me to be but very imper- 

 fectly understood, and the sooner some intelligent conclusion 

 on the matter be arrived at the better. I shall not go into the 

 subject now, but I purpose doing so before the nest show 

 season commences. 



Meanwhile I am glad Mr. Holmes has raised the question of 

 the impropriety, if I may so express it, of exhibiting Ticked 



and Evenly-marked Belgians in the same cIsbs. But before I 

 give my opinion on the matter I will just say in reply to his 

 general request — " is Chairman of the Ornithological Sooiety 

 at Nottingham I have been requested by the Belgian fancy 

 ther*i, and at Sutton, and other places in the district, to draw 

 the attention of the managers of All-England shows in future 

 to this subject, so that these birds may be shown in distinct 

 classes by themselves, instead of being classed together, as they 

 have been at the Sunderland and Crystal Palace Shows " — 

 that for two years in succession we issued the most complete 

 schedule ever seen in the Canary world, in which we offered 

 three prizes in each class for : — 1, Clear Yellow Belgian ; 2, Clear 

 Buff Belgian ; 3, Ticked and Unevenly-marked Yeilow Belgian ; 

 4, Ticked and Unovenlv-marked Buff Belgian ; 5. Evenly- 

 marked Yellow Belgian ; C, Evenly-marked Buff Belgian; and 

 that on neither occasion bad we a single entry from Notting- 

 ham, or Sutton, or any other place in the district. The Belgian 

 fancy " at Nottingham, and Sutton, and other placeB in the 

 district" should have put Mr. Holmes in possession of these 

 facts before stating " that a greater number of these birds 

 would be shown " upon a correct classification ; and Mr. Holmes 

 himself should have Btudied our schedules before venturing on 

 an incorrect statement. Ticked are not classed with Variegated, 

 nor Variegated with Ticked, at Sunderland. 



My own opinion as to the best classification of Belgians is 

 this. I contend that they are essentially position birds, and 

 that colour is about the point of least value; certainly, when 

 placed in the scale with (what shall I call them ?) structural 

 points, it is valueless. Moreover. Clear Belgians are more apt 

 to throw very slightly ticked birds than perhaps any other 

 clear variety ; and since such tick or almost indistinct mark is 

 no appreciable detriment to an excellent position bird, I would 

 class the Clear and the bona fide Ticked together as being in 

 all Belgian respects one and the same bird. Not so the Marked 

 classes — the marking has been obtained, as the crest has in 

 the Norwich, by importation from some other variety ; and as 

 in the Norwich crest is obtained at the expense of the most 

 valuable point — colour, so in the Belgian, marking is obtained 

 at the expense of the distinguishing characteristics of the class, 

 its extraordinary physical conformation. Hence, not forgetting 

 that I am dealing with Belgians, I would put all the rest other- 

 wise marked than ticked in one class ; and in judging them 

 I would not allow absolute exactness of marking to Bet aside 

 true Belgian characteristics, any more than I would allow ab- 

 solute exactness of marking to counterbalance true Norwich 

 properties. Beautiful marking and position points would have 

 to be carefully weighed together ; but it would by no means 

 follow that a bird splendidly marked on the wings, with a per- 

 fectly oval cap, or with most unimpeachable spectacle eyes, but 

 deficient in Belgian points, would beat one irregularly blotched 

 but " all there " when called upon. 



I base this theory upon the assumption that the Clear and 

 the Ticked are in all essential points one and the same thing — 

 high-bred Belgians, and that the Variegated birds are not so 

 pure in breed, or do not show such Belgian development ; and 

 it is manifestly a defective arrangement to exhibit in the same 

 class birds which must be judged for Belgian properties only, 

 and those which have Belgian properties and markingB com- 

 bined. 



I pass Mr. Holmes's remarks on the annoyance experienced 

 from nnt receiving catalogues in proper time, particularly from 

 Sunderland and the Crystal Palace, because he has only exhi- 

 bited once with us, and cannot know much of our arrange- 

 ments ; but I can assure him that his and one other catalogue 

 which went astray were posted on the opening day. But a 

 catalogue of a Canary show is almost as great a temptation to 

 a dishonest postman or post-office clerk as a letter which feels 

 very much as if it had a half-sovereign ioside. Next year I 

 hope to see Mr. Holmes and all the fancy from Nottingham, 

 and Sutton, and other places in the district, at Sunderland. 

 We will show them a model schedule and a model show. — 

 W. A. Blakston. 



THE ENGLISH CARRIER PIGEON. 

 We have much satisfaction in presenting our readers who 

 are fond of fancy Pigeons (an increasing number we know them 

 to be), with a portrait of a high-bred English Carrier, drawn on 

 purpose for this Jerarnal by that veteran fancier and skilled 

 draughtsman Mr. Dean Wolstenholme. We have further to 

 state that the standard points given are the result of the 

 combined judgments of Messrs. Brent, Hewitt, and Ord, the 



