January 2, 1868. J 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



17 



I set up Light Brahmas, being told by a great authority in the 

 poultry world, that they were not the sort to exhihit auJ win 

 prizes with. Matters have certainly improved eince the days 

 when Light and Dark competed together in one class, and 

 when, owing to fashion or fancy, very inferior Dark birds took 

 all the prizes, while the Light ones, however good, were left in 

 the cold shade of at best a high commendatiou. It was as if 

 horses, cows, and sheep had to compete in one class, and the 

 latter two, however good, had invariably to see all the prizes no 

 to their rivals. If such a state of things were to continue, as 

 in the case of the Brahmas for some time it did, with a horrible 

 monotony, it is obvious that the breeders of the unsuccessful 

 kinds would be discouraged and cease to exhibit, having the 

 certainty of defeat, however good their speoimens might be. 



Such a fate would have befallen the Light Brahmas had not 

 their friends seen that there was no chance of justice for them 

 under the existing state of things, and consequently exerted 

 themselves to obtain that justice in the shape of a separate 

 class. This is now allotted to them at all the leading and most 

 of the second-rate shows. But alas ! there is still a vestige of 

 the old intolerance left, only betittiug the days when Light 

 Brahmas at an exhibition were like angels' visits, " few and far 

 between;" utterly unsuited to the present time, when any 

 respectable show can boast its flourishing class of those once- 

 rare beauties. 



Mr. Worthingtou most truly points out that in oases where 

 a cup is given to bo competed for by Light and Dark it is 

 invariably given to the latter. 



I can confirm Mr. Worthingtou's statement by a case in 

 point. I once had a Light Brahma cock, the like of which, 

 and I speak with the experience of some years, I do not ever 

 expect to see again ! He was never beaten by any bird of his 

 own breed, and prize after prize, awarded by the first judges, 

 attested his merits. One of these gentlemen told me subse- 

 quently that this bird was a " model of what a Light Brahma 

 should be ; that since his death he had seen ncne to equal him, 

 and that when taken out of his pen and compared with Dark 

 birds he dwarfed them by comparison." A second judge 

 declared " that he was the best Light Brahma cock he had ever 

 seen." Now this bird, although competing of ten against Darks 

 for a cup, never was successful ! 



Among your numerous readers there must be many secre- 

 taries and managers of shows. Let them take a hint from Mr. 

 Worthingtou's letter, and instead of offering a cup or other 

 special prize between Light and Dark Biahmas, let them give 

 an extra prize or cup (less in value though it be), in fnc/i class. 

 By so doing they will add, not merely to the satisfaction of 

 exhibitors, but to the convenience of the judges; in witness 

 whereof let me appeal to a complaint lately made in this 

 .Tournal, by some one writing from the judges' point of view, 

 of the difficulty and invidious nature of the task imposed upon 

 a judge who has to award a special prize which is competed 

 for by several varieties. In cases where Mr. Worthingtou's 

 suggestion is not followed out, and the plan adopted of giving 

 separate prizes or cups, instead of one cup competed for by- 

 different breeds, there is still a remedy left for the injustice of 

 which Mr. Worthingtou complains. 



Let it not be assumed as a matter of course that the Darks 

 are more popular, and should therefore have the cup. This 

 may have been very well once, when there were not, as now, 

 well-tilled classes of their rivals. Besides, " to go with the 

 multitude " is not always the best ! Still less should private 

 preference come into the questi<in. Nor, again, should it be 

 said, " the Darks are the biggest," which is often not the case ; 

 and if it were so, by no means decisive. 



All these are wrong methods of arriving at a decision. And 

 here we come to the gist of the whole matter. The cup should 

 be given, not to the best comparatively of the two breeds, but 

 to the best relatively of its own variety. The Dark bird does 

 not deserve the cup unless he is better as a Dark bird than the 

 Light bird is as a Light one. The point to guide the judge 

 should be the comparison of the bird with the standard of his 

 own breed, and not of the other. 



To make the matter more clear, take the case of a cup to be 

 given to the best pen of Geese or Ducks at a show. If the 

 Geese won, it ought to be, not because the judge thought they 

 looked larger kinds, or because he liked Geese better, but 

 because the Geese, as compared with other Geese, were better 

 than the Ducks, compared with other Ducks. And as in the 

 above instance it would be quite possible for the Ducks to 

 win the cup, so ought the Light Brahmas, if better of their 

 own sort, to win the cup also. From a neglect of this 



principle, mistakes have arisen ; when it is followed juBtio» 

 is done. 



What Mr. Worthingtou calls for, and what the Light Brahma 

 breeders want, is simple justice to the Light birds, not that 

 they should be preferred above Dark birds when less deserving, 

 but that they should not be tantalised with the seeming offer 

 of prizes they cannot possibly win, and be beaten by specimenB 

 of another breed relatively less good, simply on the ground of 

 the latter being Dark ! — John Paiies, I'ost/ord near Guildford. 



I AJT very glad to see, in " our Journal " of December 19th, 

 that Mr. Worthington has spoken a word for the Light Brahmas 

 in exhibitions when competing with Dark. It does seem very 

 unfair that they should have no chance of winning a cup, even 

 against Dark Brahmas, which are inferior of their class. 

 Surely both should stand an equal chance. Mr. Worthington'B 

 suggestion, that a cup should be given to each variety, seems • 

 very good one, and one that would overcome the difficulty. 



At the Guildford Show the Light birds did for once triumph 

 over the Dark, Mr. Pares taking first, second, and extra prize, 

 and a high commendation ; while only one pen of Dark 

 was highly commended, but the rest of the Dark were very 

 inferior. — Philip Chowley. 



JUDGING POULTRY— PRIZES OFFERED 

 ERRONEOUSLY. 



Would not many errors and much fault-finding be prevented 

 by having a third judge? The one would not then have to give 

 way to the other in any opinion he may have formed on a par- 

 ticular pen of birds, the majority, two to one, carrying the 

 award. I think the plan of having a third Judge would in a 

 great measure do away with the grumbling and fault-finding by 

 disappointed exhibitors. 



I greatly admire your remarks on the Guildford Show, especi- 

 ally in reference to the awarding a cup for the best pen in the 

 Show. This cup must always cause a large amount of jealousy 

 to the winners of first prizes, each, of course, thinking his or 

 her pen the best, and as best, of course in their idea entitled 

 to the extra cup. This prize must often puzzle the Judges. 



I would also do away with the cup for the best cock or 

 cockerel in the show. Let the exhibitor of each single bird 

 be satisfied (when he wins it), with a first prize ; increase the 

 amount of such piize if you like, and if the funds will allow it, 

 but do not offer the extra cup, as it causes much ill feeling. In 

 giving the cup for Bantams, I would also name the class that 

 it is to be awarded to, and not offer it for general competition 

 to any class of Bantams. At Bristol, a seven-guinea cup was 

 offered for the best ))en of Bantams, which caused no less than 

 sixty-six entries of Game alone ; some, I hear, costing fifteen 

 guineas a-pen, bought purposely to win this cup. What was 

 the result? a solitary entry of Pekins swept away the cup from 

 the sixty-six pens of Game, the fifteen-guinea pens included. 

 There would have been more satisfaction if the cup had been 

 offered to Game Bantams alone, as this variety evidently pays 

 best. At Letds Black Bantams took the cup, the same also 

 occurring at Newport. — G. T. 



HECKMONDWIKE POULTRY SHOW. 



At no previous meeting has tbere been so large an entry ; nor, as a 

 whole, such a gooJ tom|ietition as lit that held on the '2(;tli of Decem- 

 ber. This Show bus always been very popular, and it nppears to b» 

 the meeting of the year at which the "breeders in the district contend 

 for the premierBhip more than for the value of the prizes offered. 



Aiwifi fowls were firat on the list, and every class contained splendid 

 birds. The first- prize Game fowls were equal to any seen at our large 

 shows. Game ISantmns as usual formed large classes, and the prize* 

 were awarded to birds of the real Game colour and style. Black 

 Bantams are always good at this Show. Sjmnish and Ilamhiirghs were 

 very good also. 'Ihe Single Game hen class contained many first- 

 class birds, the prize hen being one of the best Brown Reds we hare 

 seen for some time. 



There was a good show of Pujcxma, and the prize birds were very 

 much admired. 



The Exhibition was held in ft large and woll-lighted room, ue 

 person was allowed to enter until the Jadge had completed his.task, 

 which we know gave every satisfaction. 



Game (Black-breasted).— First, G. Noble, Stnincliffe. Second, C. Smith- 

 son, Heckmondwike. „ *t i^ 



Game Brown Bed).— First, T. Buddick, Bradlord. Second, H. HattoB, 

 CI eckbeaioR. 



