Febrnary 27, 1873 ] 



JOUENAIi OF HOETICOLTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



191 



■will cost yon on an a-rerage Id. per head per week, allowing them 

 to be well fed. Fowls that have a good grass run, as most 

 farmers' fowls have, can be kept in first-class condition at this 

 cost, for it must be remembered that fowls gather a consider- 

 able quantity of food for themselves at no cost to their owner ; 

 they consume quantities of green food, such as grass, also seeds, 

 waste grain, kernels, worms, slugs, grubs, tlies, &c. Such feed- 

 ing, added to the 1 lb. or 18 ozs. of grain per week, will be found 

 ample for the largest fowls. I piirchase nearly all the grain I 

 give to my fowls at retail prices, and I find that my fowls cost 

 me less than Id. per week per head. Now let us come to the 

 debtor and creditor account : Cost of rearing chick to egg-pro- 

 ducing age, Is. Gd. ; two years' feeding at Id. per week, 8s. 8(/., 

 total cost, 10?. 2d. To set on tne credit side we have, say 440 

 eggs at 9a. per dozen, £1 Is. Gd. ; the value of the hen killed at 

 this age, at the rate of id. per lb., 2s. Gd. ; total, .£1 10s. ; add to 

 this the value of its manure during the two-and-a-half years 

 (and on the value of fowl dung I shall have to say more further 

 on), allow 1 oz. per day of dry dung to each fowl, will give 3s. id., 

 at 5s. per cwt. This added to the ±'1 lOs. brings the total to 

 £1 13s. id., as the return from each fowl killed at the age of two 

 and a half years ; deduct expenses or costs incurred, 10s. 2d., 

 and we have a nett profit frem each bird of £1 3s. '2d., or oyer 

 200 per cent. 



" I may mention that careful esj)eriments have been made 

 more than once, and which have proved that the application of 

 1 cwt. of fowl dung, has equally beneficial effects upon certain 

 crops as 1 cwt. of best guano. Does not this point to the impor- 

 tance of economising and utilising the manure of fowls, and 

 especially in cases where large numbers are kept ? How seldom 

 do we find, the manure of fowls utilised as it should be ; as a 

 rule, they are allowed to roost about here and there, and even 

 when confined to a hen-roost, how seldom if ever is the manure 

 gathered and applied in any profitable way. Fowls should be 

 provided with a comfortable hen-roost and nesting-house, and 

 the bottom should be strewed with 2 or 3 inches of dry powdered 



tarden mould. This is a very important matter, as the moist 

 roppings of the fowls fall upon the dry dusty mould the latter 

 has the effect of at once deodorising it, and keeping the house 

 Bweet. 



"I beg to conclude, hoping that by drawing attention to this 

 important though neglected branch of agricultural industry, I 

 may induce you to give fowls a fair trial, and I also trust that I 

 have succeeded in convincing you that although it be true that 

 ' fowls don't pay,' it is equally true that they do pay, and that 

 under certain specified conditions they not only pay but actually 

 return a larger profit than that realised from any other farm 

 stock." 



BBAHMA CHAEACTEBISTICS. 



"Will you or some one publish the right standard for judging 

 Brahmas ? Or can a subscription be raised amongst amateurs 

 to know what are the right points ? I am induced to trouble 

 you because I want to know what to breed this season, and be- 

 cause I, after sending birds to five shows this year, winning 

 first at Portsmouth, first at Swansea, second at Southampton, 

 and highly commended at Lowestoft and "Wolverhampton, am 

 now told at a sixth show that I am, so says the Rev. G. F. 

 Hodson, disqualified because of vulture hocks. What is vulture 

 hock ? and in the interest of the fancy do kindly insert this. — 

 Henky Fe.ist. 



[We reprint from a former number an illustration of the 

 vulture hock. The vulture hock is the projection of feathers 

 behind the knee, and 

 inclining towards the 

 ground. Some judges 

 consider it a fatal defect, 

 and we have always la- 

 mented that conclu- 

 sion, for we admire such 

 feathering, and it ia 

 usually found on fine 

 specimens. It is very 

 deshable that three or 

 four absolutely re- 

 quired characteristics, 

 and three or four ab- 

 solutely fatal defects in 

 each variety of poultry should be agreed to by a committee of 

 our best judges. AH minor quahfications, and that most im- 

 portant one, good condition, must always be left to the judges 

 discretion. — Eds.] 



POTJLTEY STANDAED CHAEACTEBISTICS. 



I AM very glad to find that exhibitors are taking up the matter 

 of having a fixed "standard" of points, and I sincerely hope 

 they will succeed, as I am sure one is wanted, if not by the 

 judges, at all events by exhibitors. I for one shall be glad to 



have such a standard established, and hope that secretaries and 

 committeemen will help us by not engaging the services of 

 those judges who decUne to award the prizes by the standard. 

 For instance, I will refer to Golden-pencilled Hamburghs, a 

 breed which is very much on the increase, and of which I am 

 and have been both a breeder and exhibitor. You wUl find 

 some judges awarding their prizes to cocks with a bright, deep, 

 and rich golden bay colour, and others to those of a rich deep 

 red. Now, which of these la correct, ancl which are we to breed 

 for ■? Next, with regard to the tails, some prefer black tails, 

 some black edged with bronze, and some bronze. Now^ what 

 are we to do ? I consider that it is now absolutely necessary 

 that soma fixed standard should be established. There is still 

 another point, but this does not concern Hamburghs alone, and 

 that is trimming, and more especially the combs. Are we to 

 trim birds' combs or not ? Do the judges intend to disqualify 

 comb-trimmers ? I hope they will. Now, I was at a show 

 lately, and both first and second-prize birds were trimmed in 

 comb, and the owners confessed it. — A H.iMBUBGH-BnEEDER. 



"WHO WAS THE JUDGE AT HANLET SHO"W? 



Do not imagine, ye Judge, whoever you may be, from the- 

 above heading, that a disappointed exhibitor is about to blow 

 off his pent-up wrath through the columns of "our Journal."" 

 The question is asked for the following reasons : — There has 

 been a great deal of correspondence and talk respecting the 

 naming of the Judges in the prize list, so that people may 

 know beforehand who is going to decide on the merits of their 

 birds, and so enter or not as they think proper. "While con- 

 sidering this a matter of indifference as a rule, beUeving that at 

 all good shows the services of good judges will be secured, I do 

 think exhibitors have a right to know who the Judges were 

 after the Show is over. Upon receiving the catalogue of Hanley 

 Show aud finding I had won a prize, I naturally looked to see 

 whom I had to inwardly thank for the honour so obtained, for, 

 unfortunately, being in the fag-end of the prize list, I found 

 very httle besides the honour left by the time the birds got back 

 to Bristol. From beginning to end, however, I could not dis- 

 cover any official names but those of the Committee, &c., and 

 " "Veterinary Inspector." Now, why name the latter gentlemaiB 

 and not the Judges ? Thinking the information I wanted would 

 certainly appear after the report of the Show in the Journal, 

 I patiently waited a week for that invaluable paper, but was 

 again disappointed. Now, I do not suppose that the Committee 

 of the Hanley Show had any reason for this omission, and I 

 pen these few words more with the hope of drawing the atten- 

 tion of other committees to this important subject, than with 

 any intention of finding fault. Exhibitors are a sensitive race 

 of individuals, and everything should be avoided which would 

 be likely to raise suspicion. — E. Cambbldge. 



[We have many complaints about this Show, the most seriona 

 is — " That Messrs. Hewitt and Teebay were appointed Judges, 

 but that they both received notice three days before the Show 

 that their services wo\ild not be required ; and that a party had 

 either all or part of his birds left in his hampers." — Eds.] 



COLCHESTEE POULTEY SHO"^\ 



This Show was held on the 19th and 20th inst., at the Corn 

 Exchange and Public Hall, buildings well adapted for the pui"- 

 pose. A very attractive prize Ust brought out many birds which 

 we should have thought would have been now entirely devoted 

 to breeding purposes. 



The Dorkings were very good classes. Among the Greys a, 

 good pen of Darks was first, they also secured the cup ; and a 

 pen of Silvers was justly second. The "White were all ex- 

 tremely good, the first-prize birds well deserving the admiratioB 

 they received. The Cochin entries were few in the Buffs ; the 

 third-prize pen of Lady Gwyder's contained some good-shaped 

 birds, but they were a little faulty in colour, otherwise they 

 would have secured the best position. Cochins, any other 

 variety, comprised only three entries. The first-prize pen, a pail* 

 of "Whites from Mr. "Woodgate were good, but the hen was a 

 httle out of condition. The Dark Brahmas contained twelve 

 entries. The first and second prizes went to some healthy- 

 looking birds, but we should have much preferred the third- 

 prize pen had the birds been in condition, but they showed such 

 signs of overwork, that we were pleased to see them superseded, 

 as we think they have brought sufficient honours to their owner's 

 yard to deserve a httle rest ; and if this warning is not accepted 

 the owner will have no right to complain, if, on the next occasion, 

 they are passed without notice. The Light Brahmas were a 

 miserable collection. Among the Spanish were some first-class 

 liirds, the winners being in fine condition. A good pen of Mr. 

 Jackson's arrived too late for competition, otherwise they would 

 probably have secured a place. The Game classes contained 

 some handsome birds, the lieds being shown together; all 

 the prizes went to the Browns. The first-prize pen of Mr. 

 Foster's we have before had occasion to notice, and the birds 



