October 1G, 18(16. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



301 



(J. C. M.).— Applet: 1, Royal Russet; 2, Carol's Seedling; 3, Golden 

 Pippin; 5, Ord'fi; 7. Slum. imp Pippin; 8, Boauty of Kent; 0, Hollnnd- 

 luin : 11, Herefordshire Pe:iimain ; 12, Gulden Nunpiireit. I'r.ir: Beurre 



lie Cnpinumont. (A'.i. -Pears: 1, Easter Beurre (S.)j 3 and 4, Baronno 

 do Mello (S.)j 5, Bellissimo d' Hiver (S.); 6, Sans IVpina (S.) ; 

 8, Beunv Bosc (W.i. 1, Finnish Beauty (W.) ; 4, Van Mona Leon 

 Leclero [So; l", Shobden Court (E.) ; IS, Duchesae tVAngouleme (S.). 

 Applet: 7, Blenheim Pippin; 8, Bedfordshire Foundling; 9, Lemon 

 Pippin ; 11, White Calville. (A Subscriber Learner). — Pears : 2, Sana 

 IVpina; 8, Autumn Colmar; 6. Triomphe do Jodoigno ; 7, Fondanto 

 d'Autumne ; 8, Passu Colmar ; 9, Beunv d'Aremberg ; 10, Colmar d'Arem- ' 



borg; 11, Duchosse d'Angonl.'me ; 14 and 18, Giuied'a Bergnmot; 17 and 

 23, Ne Plus Meuris ; 19 and 28, Catlike ; 20, Bed Doyenne ; 21, Beurre do 



Kance ; 2G and 29, Brown Beurre; 27, Vicar •>! Winklleld ; :>(», Colmar 

 d'Aremberg. Apples : 8, Lewia's Incomparable; 11, Pearson's* Plate ; 

 18, Red Astrachan ; 15, Golden Russet; 21, Bedfordshire Foundling. 

 (D. B. T.).—\, Bartmne de Mello; 2, Beurre d'Aremberg; !3, Winter Kelis ; 

 4, Easter Beurre. 



Names of Plants {Ajax).—\, Ailanthua glandulosa; 2, Glyptostrobus 

 pendulus. [O. O.).— Erigeron. aeris. {Hafui Ri 71.- You must bond better 

 specimens. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS in the Suburbs of London for the Week ending October 13th. 



POULTRY, BEE, and HOUSEHOLD CHRONICLE. 



OUR POULTRY SUPPLY. 



" There must be more attention paid to poultry." That is 

 heard everywhere. It has become part of the food question, 

 and that is irrepressible, to use the language of the present 

 day. There is nothing new to be said about it ; but impor- 

 tunity will sometimes gain that which is refused to common 

 sense or sound argument. Poultry suffers in two ways. Inju- 

 dicious friends call fowls pets, dears, and darlings ; unthinking 

 enemies call them pests, plagues, and nasty brutes. They are 

 neither one nor the other. They are most valuable adjuncts 

 to the table, they are most acceptable to the invalid, and they 

 are fast claiming the attention of the political economist. 



The estimated value of the poultry stock in France is eight 

 millions sterling. This is not guesswork, it is the plain state- 

 ment of official statistics. Our importation of eggs now greatly 

 exceeds a million daily. Although we are apt to attribute vast 

 importance to poultry, yet our ideas are not confined to it as a 

 hobby, we view it as a food-producer. The high price of meat 

 is not alone caused by the rinderpest, it is the result of con- 

 sumption and demand. The latter is getting ahead of the 

 supply, and some who are competent judges say the supply can- 

 not be increased. Then we must either produce more or 

 enlarge the capabilities of that which we have, by making the 

 same quantity feed more mouths. Much has been done of 

 late in the way of increasing the quantity. The amount of 

 food consumed has returned double by being given to birds of 

 greater capabilities iu the way of fattening, and of larger 

 growth and weight. This, however, is not enough ; the number 

 requires to be increased, and artificial means must be used ; 

 seasons must be overcome, and appliances used that will make 

 every month a hatching month. The supply of poultry that 

 is now a monopoly of Sussex, Surrey, and parts of Kent, 

 should be general throughout the kingdom. Good young 

 poultry should, in the spring months, be within the reach of 

 those who can afford to eat it without paying a famine price. 

 The difficulty of obtaining broody hens has hitherto been 

 almost insurmountable ; that is now overcome by means of 

 incubators and artificial mothers, which succeed admirably, 

 and which may enable us to have relays of chickens ready for 

 every month in the year. Fowls have no seasons, eggs are laid 

 all the year round, and they may be reared. It may be said 

 that in the winter there will be difficulty in rearing ; but we 

 know there will be very little. The same perfection is not 

 required for the table as for the exhibition pen. All that is 

 necessary is to produce a quantity of young, tender, and 

 nourishing food. Deficient claws, faulty plumage, objectionable 

 combs, even a perceptible cross, are unimportant. 



It is a fact, that since the beginning of what was mis-termed 

 the poultry mania, the supply of poultry has decreased in the 

 London market. In our next we will inquire into the causes, 

 and endeavour to find a remedy. 



FURTHER REMARKS ON " THE STANDARD 

 OF EXCELLENCE.' 



I have read with great interest the criticisms of " New- 

 makket," upon " The Standard of Excellence," and, doubtless, 

 the compilers of that work will, in a future edition, gladly 

 avail themselves of the remarks of one who clearly knows 

 what Game fowls ought to be. 



The subject having been thus opened, I should like to add 

 a few words. I have puzzled many times, always liking to 

 find a reason for everything, over the arrangement of " The 

 Standard," I mean over the order in which the varieties are 

 named. Cochins, Brahmas, and Malays come first. I said to 

 myself, " Ah ! I see — size, rules," but, no, for here come next 

 Game and Dorkings ; then follow Hamburghs and Spanish. 

 Well, Spanish usually appear as Class 1 in shows, a compli- 

 ment, perhaps, to the Spanish Hidalgos, who claim to have the 

 bluest blood in Europe ; then follow Polish and Bantams, size, 

 again, perhaps, placing the little Bantam last ; but read over 

 the arrangement and you will see neither size alone, nor pro- 

 fitableness, nor ancient lineage, nor beauty of feather, have 

 determined the order in which the fowls are arranged. 



Following the fowls come Ducks, Geese, and Turkeys. Well, 

 clearly a Turkey is a more honourable bird than either a 

 Goose or a Duck, and a bigger bird too. Surely the cock 

 Turkey will utter a vengeful " gobble, gobble," at seeing him- 

 self put last. The arrangement being guided by no perceivable 

 principle, I am led to fancy that the wind scattered the sheets, 

 and they were arranged by the printer as they happened to be 

 picked up. 



Clearly the alphabetical order would have been the best, for 

 it would, as always, have caused the book to be more easily 

 referred to. Let me, then, suggest this alteratiou. I have a 

 further remark to make : Only nine varieties of fowls are 

 mentioned in " The Standard," upwards of twenty varieties 

 being omitted. I own some of these are rarely seen, but a few 

 words surely should have been given on every variety, and 

 something said in order to guide the owners of them as to the 

 birds most suited for exhibition. 



I sincerely hope that our poultry shows will not be limited 

 to the nine varieties named in " The Standard." The interest 

 of a show is greatly heightened by the presence of Andalusians, 

 Silkies, Bakies, Frizzled, &c. We also like, naturally, to see 

 again such old friends as Booted, Partridge, and Nankin 

 Bantams ; and rely upon it, the non-poultry world would 

 rather pay to see new varieties, such as Houdans, Cruve Coeurs, 

 and La Fli-che, than the best specimens of Spanish, for it 

 thinks all Spanish alike, one as good as another. Variety is a 

 point we should aim at if we are to make shows popular and 

 paying. The sea-bear at the Zoological Gardens is not so 

 handsome as a lion or a tiger, but being new, people who are 

 tired of lions and tigers willingly pay a shilling to see him. 



One last remark. "The Standard" contains but fifty-sis 

 widely-printed pages, and costs 5s. This exorbitant price will 

 injure the circulation of the book, and prevent humble fanciers 

 and exhibitors (this I know for a fact), knowing the required 



