Jannar; 14, 1869. 1 



JODBNAIi OF HOETIcaiiTUBE AND COTTAGE OABDENEE. 



35 



sapposing that all dealers are exolnded from judging, I wish 

 the framers of Rosolution 5 would Btate the advantages of pub- 

 liahing the names cif the judges before shows are held. 



I rarely exhibit, and I am disposed to give my attention more 

 particularly to poultry as a means of general food ; but I am 

 very fond of fancy poultry and of poultry shows. I should, there- 

 fore, be glad to iio anything that would tend to bring about an 

 improvement in the system of exhibiting, and I would sign 

 these resolutions it I c^eirly saw their drift. 



It is very important that all oflicials connected with poultry 

 shows should avoid exhibiting, either directly or indirectly — 

 that is, either by their wives or children, in the show where 

 they officiate ; and that no person should accompany the judge, 

 1)0 the latter dealer or otherwise, but a paid servant not being 

 a ponltry-man belonging to any exhibitor at that show ; and, 

 moreover, that the book supplied to the judge be simply a list 

 of numbers, not corresponding with the label numbers — as is 

 in some cases now done — arranged under the headings of the 

 different classes. It is also a great point that in minor shows 

 the empty baskets should not be placed, as is often the case, 

 under the pens. — Gijoroe Manning. 



The spirited manner in which " Nemo" and other fanciers 

 have taken i;p the question of the glaring malpractices at re- 

 cent shows, deserves the especial thanks of all honest exhi- 

 bitors, and I trust the matter will not be allowed to drop until 

 it is remedied by the judges disqualifying all pens when detected 

 to have been tampered with. 



I fully coincide with the excellent rules of the Rev. G. Eay- 

 nor, and the sooner committees take into consideration these 

 and other practical suggestions which have lately appeared in 

 your Journal the better. 



There is another matter which I consider very important to 

 exhibitors, and that is. What is to be the correct guide in 

 selecting birds for exhibiting ? The " Standard of Excellence " 

 was published in 18fi-S by the Poultry Club, with the intention, 

 I believe, that it should be the standard authority ; but it is 

 evidently ignored by the judges, as lately I have frequently 

 seen prizes given to birds totally differing from those defined 

 by the rules laid down in that work. It would be more satis- 

 factory if some recognised rules were laid down for the guidance 

 of exhibitors ; and it would be very desirable if committees, 

 where possible, would publish the names of the judges in their 

 schedules. — An Amateok. 



FANCY TAILORING. 



It is quite right to cut one's coat according to the cloth, bat 

 it is not at all necessary to use scissors and needles, or any 

 other such manipulation, to bring the natural plumage of birds 

 up to an artificial standard. 



" The hireling artiet plants his paltry desk. 

 And inakee defjraded Nature picturesque." 



But what shall be said of the poultry-fancier who takes Nature 

 itself and clips and cuts it, and ties and pins it up to an arbi- 

 trary standard of excellence, in order that he may put a silver 

 cup on his sideboard, or a few shillings in his pocket ? Of 

 course individuals who indulge in this occupation are tailors 

 in every sense of the word, and it would take a very heavy 

 nine of these to make one tolerably decent man. Do not let 

 us use the word " fraudulent ;" that is properly applied to 

 plucky scoundrels who for some great gain risk their liberties. 

 These fancy tailors, for a paltry gain, risk nothing, because 

 they have nothing to risk. 



*' Same women have no characters at all," 

 and I suppose this may be held to be true of both sexes. 



Mr. Eadclyffa objects to the expression, " fraudulent prac- 

 tices." We will not call these undesirable practices so. They 

 shall be named fancy tailoring. So much for poultry tailors. 



I agree with Mr. Kadcljffe that in a poultry show all birds 

 should be shown without mutilation or the addition to them of 

 foreign substances. If Game birds are to be shown trimmed, 

 let there be sporting shows for the purpose. I am not insen- 

 sible to the beauties of a trimmed Game cock, but the trim- 

 ming of these birds as seen at poultry shows is, after all, a 

 sham, and is not the trimming used for the pit, where it 

 originated. 



I particularly object to the words in the protest which has 

 been published — " or the removal of an occasional damaged 

 feather," because this exception opens the door to every kind 

 of abuse. With the suggestion that these words should be ex- 



punged, and with the asterisk which applies to the trimming 

 of Spanish fowls, I will ask you to add my signature to the 

 protest. 



Fancy poultry-rearing and showing are very pleasant amuse- 

 ments, and have been made very useful in the food question. 

 Gentlemen who wish to make such exhibitions sporting events 

 should hold shows of their own. Poultry-showing has natur- 

 ally nothing of this kind about it. It is true it has become a 

 sporting matter ; but anything may be made so by those who 

 care nothing for the thing itself — two drops of rain on a window 

 pane, for instance. I distinguish between sportsmen and sport- 

 ng men. — Georcie Mannino, Springfield, Essex. 



GOLDEN POLANDS. 



In your comments on the Birmingham Show, in the number 

 for December 10th, you say that Golden Polands seem to be 

 disappearing, and unless they increase in number and quality 

 they must soon give way to their Silver brethren. This may 

 be true, but I, for one, should very much regret the day when 

 the Golden Poland ceased to appear at our shows. I consider 

 the Golden Poland, when first-class, about the handsomest 

 fowl in existence. No doubt good specimens are rare, but is 

 there not a cause, and a sufScient cause for this? I think 

 there is. The Golden Poland is more difficult to breed perfect 

 than the Silver, and from this cause first-class Silvers have 

 been more plentiful than equally good Golden ones. At our 

 poultry shows one class has been generally considered suffi- 

 cient for all the varieties of Polands, if they have not been quite 

 ignored. Having only one class, and the Silvers having the 

 start, and, consequently, winning the prizes, the Golden have 

 been neglected, and are now the reverse of plentiful. I hold, 

 however, that they only need a little encouragement to bring 

 them to a first-class position. The Liverpool Commitee very 

 generously offered prizes equal in amount to those offered for 

 the Silver and White-crested Black Polands. This Committee, 

 the Birmingham, and the Bath and West of England Commit- 

 tees, are the only ones, so far as my memory serves me, which 

 give separate classes for the different colours of Polands, so 

 that they do not meet with over-much encouragement. 



The Golden Poland is a great favourite of mine, and has 

 been ever since I first saw a specimen of the breed, and I 

 should be sorry to see it more neglected than it is now, as it 

 does not deserve such treatment. — G. W. Boothby. 



BREEDING GAME FOWLS. 



In breeding Game fowls great care should be taken that no 

 Game hens or pullets are ever allowed to run with or near any 

 farmyard cocks, or any other than Game cocks, as if they mix 

 with "such they will sometimes throw back to the cocks in breed- 

 ing, after along separation from them, and though such is not 

 generallv supposed to be the case, it certainly sometimes takes 

 place. Game cocks and stags may be kept on the same walks 

 as hens of any breed (rather small hens the best), but Game 

 hens and pullets must never mix with any cocks, or stags, but 

 Game, on any account whatever, as it is very likely to injure 

 the purity of breed in their progeny. 



In breeding, it is often said that two-thirds of the influence 

 over the progeny comes from the hen, and only one-third from 

 the cock. I have found it in general as follows :— That the 

 cock has two-thirds of the influence over the male progeny, and 

 the hen two-thirds of the influence over the female progeny, 

 the cock having only one-third influence over his female 

 progeny, and the hen only one-third influence over her male 

 progeny. The best chickens, however, of both sexes will take 

 most after the cock, if cock and hens are equal in strength of 

 blood and of constitution, and in goodness; the weakest and 

 worst chickens will in like manner take most after the hen aa a 

 rule. Many breeders, however, will differ from my experience 

 as to this I daresay, as I have heard some assert the contrary, 

 but not the majority of those I have compared notes with. Most, 

 however, agree that the cock influences the fighting properties 

 the most, unless the hens bred from are of gamer blood than 

 the cock is. I always like to see the cock influence the progeny 

 as much as possible, as this shows more vigour in general in 

 the brood, especially when with a large proportion of cock 

 chickens. The cock influencing the progeny most shows he is a 

 good brood cock ; and if he does not, he may be called an in- 

 ferior brood cock. 



Crossing different colours together I could never recommend 



