JOUBKAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ January 16, ItCfi. 



aoJ tlicrtby wcttinR tlio floor. anJ, if tlioro is sand or gravel 

 on it. tbeir flight and tail featlicrs become very dirty. Some 

 that I «aw in a very lilthy stato i)robably owed their con- 

 dition to these eausen. Mijiht I suggest a greater number of 

 seats? Of course Ihefc cannot be in the Toultry (Show, but 

 in other parts. What few there were were watched and waited 

 for by the hour by tired ladies. I was glad to sfco that the 

 National I'oultry Ci'mpany was making itself knowii, and that 

 it obtained some prizes. Now that butcher's meat is so dear, 

 poultry ought to pay. Poultry ."iliows are ahvays beneficial, 

 but thlit held at Ririuingham is, I think, especially so. The 

 time of year is somewhat dull ; no out-door pleasure save hunt- 

 ing |X)ssible; Christmas sociality has not commenced. Well, 

 this bcautifiil and extensive Slioiv comes, and affords each year 

 much and perfectly iiniocent gratification to thousands. I 

 enjoyed it cxtronuly. It has made a i)kusaiit first impression 

 upon me. Many a time do I, and shall I, close my eyes and 

 imagine myself in Uingley Hall, and live a;;ain those hapi>y 

 hours, thinking of my amazement and bewilderment the first 

 day, and my (|uiet orderly pleasure on the second. I learut 

 tkit Biuglcy Hall was, in old days, a mansion standing in its 

 large high-wnlled garden. Many a guest did it welcome at 

 Christmas and New Year ; but now it welcomes many more. 

 The hosts, so to speak (the Committee), offer a constant source 

 of pleasnrc, and time does not hang on their guests' hands. 

 All success to the Committee. Please everj-body they cannot 

 — let them be sure of that, and not mind it a bit ; but they chd 

 thoroughly please — Wiltsuibe Hectok. 



P.S. — One little word upon another subject. Last April a 

 great deal of that most jirecious thing in this world — sympathy, 

 was felt and shown by many of our readers to Mrs. Chitty, 

 ■widow of one of the writers in this Journal. Her poor husband 

 had died after a few days' illness, leaving his wife and five 

 children penniless. AATien at Birmingham I was the guest of 

 Mr. Webley. Chitty's master, and although personally an entire 

 stranger, I was received by that gentleman with all an English- 

 man's kindness and hospitality. 



It will be remembered by many that the money collected 

 snfficcd to start the widow as a general-shopkeeper in the 

 village in which she lived, and where her husband hiid been 

 much respected. The last morning of my stay I walked to 

 Selly Oak on purpose to see Mrs. Chitty. It is a village of but 

 yesterday — one of the arms, or rather fingers, of that giant of 

 industry busy Birmingham, which now stretches out many 

 miles into the surrounding country — a village half-grown as 

 yet, with patches of ground marked out for building upon in 

 all directions. Passing houses of more pretension, I at length 

 reached the village street, and soon came to Mrs. Chitty's shop. 

 I had a good look in at the window, in which everything was 

 tastefully arranged and beautifully clean. I then sat an hour 

 in the shop, and heard the sad story told, how a life of hand 

 work by day and head work by night broke down tlie health of 

 the young and clever gardener. It was a shop in which every- 

 thing looked doubly good from its exceeding cleanliness. I 

 saw and talked to the children, and tried to impress upon the 

 elder ones their duty to their mother. I heard of much genuine 

 kindness shown to Mrs. Chitty by her poor as well as her 

 richer neighbours, and all seemed satisfactory. Mrs. Chitty 

 expressed much gratitude to all who had helped her, and espe- 

 cially to Mr. Webley, who originated the subscription, and who 

 now aids her by supervision and advice. Apparently she is 

 likely to gain a comfortable livelihood. I make this little 

 statement, for it was u great satisfaction to me to sec, as it will 

 be to many to hear, that what was kindly done has had bo 

 Bucccssful a result. — W. R. 



rubbing his comb against the top. Vera this altered, and 

 more light let into the building, it would be a great improve- 

 ment, and tend greatly to increase the popularity of the Show. 

 I missed well-known names, previous winners there. Could 

 this account for their absence ? for in many of the classes the 

 prizes are very liberal. In every other respect the birds were 

 most carefully attended to. 



The Game classes contained some splendid specimens, the 

 substance and condition of the cup birds being everything that 

 could be desired. I did not fancy the Dorkings were bo good 

 as usual. The cup j'cn of Buff Cochins was a most splendid 

 pen — very large good-bodied birds, and worth going many miles 

 to see. Miss Milward's were beautiful in colour. The White 

 Cocliins were few, but good. Mr. Heath's cup Spanish cock 

 begins to look as if he were going the way of all good Spanish 

 cocks now-a-days ; it seems a trouble to him to open his eyes. 

 The extremely warty face certainly disfigures them. The comb 

 of this bird does not jdease me. I cannot agree \vith your re- 

 porter as to the Brahmas. There have been much better com- 

 petitions at Lord Tredegar's Show in previous years. This 

 year I only saw two respectable pens. Is the falling-oil of 

 entries in this class, now becoming so popular, to be attributed 

 to increased entry payment without any increase of prize 

 money ? 



Hamburghs mustered strongly, and there were very good 

 specimens of all the older varieties. I did not like to see the prize 

 cards of another show stuck on jiens of birds that were here only 

 highly commended. I thought it bad taste. It was done after 

 the awards. The Gold and Silver Polands were few in number 

 but good in quality. The Silver-laced cup Bantams were little 

 pictures. The same m.iy be said of Mr. Zurhorsfs Sultans — 

 quite one of the gems of the Show — faultless in condition, ie. 

 La Fli'che may have good qualities, but certainly not beauty. 

 Does any ))erson doubt me :' If he cannot see a living speci- 

 men, let him notice the drawing of Birmingham prize birds, in 

 the Illustmtid London Xfics and judge for himself — (N.B., if of 

 nervous temperament the experiment had better be avoided). 

 A pen of blue Creve Ca-ms were unnoticed. These birds were 

 slate-coloured, like bad Andalusians in face and colour ; but 

 the hens had topknots, the cocks, I think, being deficient. A 

 Creve Coiur cock in the Single Cock class was exactly opi>osite 

 a bad Silver Poland with developed comb, &c. ; they looked 

 first cousins. Again I said to myself, " Degenerate Poland ! " 

 Several of the Black Hamburghs had the white of the carlobe 

 extending over the face, and agjiiu I said to myself " Bred 

 from Minorcas ! '' Turkeys, Geese, and Aylesbury Ducks were 

 very good. — Y. B. A. Z. 



DOTTIXGS AT NEWl'ORT. 



" WiLTsniRE Rector " not being there to sec, I may give 

 you my thoughts on the Show. First and foremost, I should 

 like to see some things altered at Newjiort. Lord Tredegar's 

 Show is no longer a paltry affair, but takes its stand as one of 

 the leading local shows ; it therefore ought to move onwards. [ 

 I think most of my fellow exbibitors would prefer wooden pens l 

 to wicker baskets. The latter injure the plumage of the in- 

 mates, especially the tails of the cocks. Some, however, of 

 the Newport baskets had no provision made to prevent the 

 neighbouring male birds exchanging civiUties with each other. 

 I myself shifted two Polish that were thus engaged. Some of 

 "the baskets, moreover, were too small for their inmates. I 

 saw one or two pens that I fancy lost position from thelowness 

 of their baskets, the cock not being able to stand erect without 



RAILWAY CHARGES. 

 The thanks of every exhibitor are due to " Y'. E. A. Z." and 

 " J. K." for so ably using their )iens in the matter of " railway 

 charges," as most must have suffered from nearly every griev- 

 ance mentioned. At many shows this year where I have been 

 a successful exhibitor, it has been, as '• J. K." says, " rather 

 galling to find the prize-money, and even more, swallowed up 

 in railway carriage," and to many this must prove a drawback. 

 There can be no doubt that railways benefit by poultry shows, 

 as not only do they carry the poiUtry, but, in many cases, the 

 owners also. I myself have travelled hundreds of miles to a 

 show, seldom alone, and find ladies prefer first-class and 

 express trains ; and, of course, this is the case with man; 

 others. I have in some instances received back the return 

 railway carriage on application, but what is wanted is a general 

 rule that no back-carriage shall be charged on poultry, or at 

 any rate that the charges should be modified. I am glad to 

 see •' Y'. B. A. Z." " hopes shortly to propose a remedy," and 

 I trust it will be taken up, and tend to remove this grievance, 

 so important to all. I, for one, shall certainly next year ciur- 

 tail my entries at shows on those lines where back-carriage is 

 doubtful, and, on the other hand, send as many as possible on 

 those lines consenting to retm-n the birds unsold free. I also 

 fully agree with " Y'. B. A. Z.'s " remarks on the delay in send- 

 ing exhibition labels. — E. P. L. 



MiTiDLETON Orn'ithologic.il ASSOCIATION. — The first Exhi- 

 bition of this Association is to be held at Middleton, near 

 Manchester, on the 9th and lilth of February. There are 

 fifteen classes for Canaries, twelve for British and foreign birds, 

 and twelve for Pigeons, in most of which two prizes are offered. 

 The entries will close on Monday, the oth of February. 



