Navember i, IS69. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTIOULTUKE AND COTTAGE GAEDENER. 



369 



During the six years which have passed since I began poultry- 

 keeping as an enthusiast, I have gone through the different 

 stages of exhibitor, amateur dealer, experimentalist in food and 

 housing, and in breeding for feather and for flesh. I have read 

 nearly all that has been written in that time about poultry, and 

 I have listened to much that hae been said. I have seen the 

 Poultry Club rise and fall, the National Poultry Company and 

 others of its kind blown away like bundles of feathers. Specu- 

 lators, who have gone in for poultry farms and poultry appli- 

 ances and machinery, which almost offered to supersede Nature, 

 have one after the other passed away. Large breeders for food 

 and for fancy, of wealth and title, have one after another ceased 

 to bo, and changes innumerable have, in the ordinary course of 

 things, from time to time taken place. Other men have seen 

 the same, and, perhaps, more than I have ; but many have not 

 noted these things, and, if they have noted them, have not 

 brought their conclusions to light. It is in the hope that I may 

 stir up others more capable than myself to the examination of ques- 

 tions connected with poultry- keeping that I write this preliminary 

 letter. I hope to be permitted to follow it by others dealing 

 with the questions of poultry shows, the breeding for fancy and 

 for food — the latter a point so important, that every experience 

 which can he given is of inestimable value, whilst it is all to 

 be desired that statements should not be allowed to go forth 

 which are fallacious, and would be necessarily detrimental to 

 the one great point to be kept in view — namely, the rearing of 

 poultrj- on farms as an important part of the food of the people 

 — Egojiet, 



OUR POULTRY SHOWS. 



Undeh this head appeared an article in " our Journal " of 

 October 21st, signed "Justice," in which he complains of one 

 or two fancied evils, "which, if unchecked, must ultimately 

 destroy much of the popularity of our poultry shows." The first 

 is, " secretaries and committee even competing for prizes ;" and 

 the second is, " local exbibitors being allowed to compete with 

 the same birds for both local and general cups." 



''Justice " does not state in what consists the first evil, from 

 which I infer it must be so patent to his imagination that he 

 thinks it must be perfectly obvious to others. I cannot see any 

 evil in the practice, but only good. Why, who are the secre- 

 taries and committeemen of our shows ? Enthusiastic fanciers, 

 who are wiUing to spend and be spent for the benefit of their 

 particular hobby — men who, being for the time semi -lunatics, 

 on their first committee-meeting dip their hands deep into their 

 pockets, and at their last meeting repeat the operation, only 

 sometimes a little deeper than before. They are men svho will 

 give much valuable time, make great sacrifices, go through a 

 deal of hard work, which, from the time of receiving the first to 

 despatching the last package of birds, is work. They are men 

 who will leave their di-awing-room to blister their fingers with 

 boxes and hampers, and pens, and cages, and rope, and stiiag, 

 and canvas, and packing needles— aye, and I have even seen a 

 lady writing out " copy " of a heavy catalogue for the printer ; 

 folding and addressing the early editions, that expectant exhi- 

 bitors might know their success by breakfast time next morning ; 

 and then winding up the labours of a severely exhausting week 

 by plying her packing needle in a way which has evoked many 

 a letter of thanks from rough honest men, whose birds have 

 retunied to them so tenderly cared for. Our secretaries and 

 committeemen are men whose constant study it is to give to all 

 a " clear stage and no favour," to effect which, and to avoid 

 the very appearance of evU, is their greatest anxiety. They are 

 men who ought to be above suspicion, or they are not fit for 

 their office. 



_ And why all this labour and expense .' Is it simply to bring 

 birds from a distance to compete for their prizes ? By no means. 

 It is primarily to encourage the breeding of various races and 

 the development of their beauties— to add their little effort to 

 the other little efforts which are made throughout the country, 

 and without which there would be no shows. But it is also that 

 they may bring a great show home to their own doors, where 

 the}- may measure with their own eyes the produce of their own 

 yards, their own aviaries, their own hutches, their own kennels, 

 against those of their friends afar oft'. And on what tangible 

 grounds can anyone say Nay ? I ask " Justice " in the name 

 of everything that is chivalric and honourable. Why not ? 



Nor can I see any evil likely to result from the second com- 

 plaint. Supposing a society, in addition to an open cup, should 

 offer a local cup. 1 think I am right in saying that in nearly 

 every instance this is done on the assumption that the local man 

 has but asmall chance with the outside competitor ; but it affords 



him an opportunity of competing among his fellows for a trophy 

 which the foreign exhibitor cannot touch — it is far beyond his 

 reach by being made local. But because there is an additional 

 incentive in the shape of a special reward to liim who comes off 

 best in this unequal fight, that should not debar the local man 

 from aiming at the great prize of all. And if by virtue of his 

 superior prowess he should in the race beat the whole field, who 

 could begrudge him his double honours f I am quite open to 

 admit that in offering a local cup the contingency I have sup- 

 posed is not contemplated and will not often occur ; in fact, its 

 frequent repetition would defeat its original intention, since it 

 would demonstrate that those at home were on an equality with 

 those abroad, and hence the local cup would be abolished. So 

 long, however, as a society chooses to offer a special reward 

 to him within its limits who can deal the hardest blows at the 

 expected foe, I cannot see why he should lose that reward because 

 he absolutely fairly vanquishes his enemy and wins his armour. 



"Justice" has nothing to do with what Long Sutton or any 

 other society chooses to offer its members. It offers a prize open 

 to the world, for which "Justice" can compete if he think fit, 

 and the presence or absence of a local incentive will not im- 

 poverish him, or militate against his chance of the prize for 

 which he enters. He has nothing to do with the local prize any 

 more than if it were not in the schedule at all, but was subse- 

 quently presented to the most successful local exhibitor as an 

 acknowledgment for the way in which ho upheld the character 

 of the district over which the jurisdiction of the society of which 

 he is a member extends. — Aliquis. 



I c.iWNOT agree with your correspondent "Justice," that 

 secretaries and committeemen should not exhibit poultry at their 

 own shows. Where a committee is composed, as it always 

 should be, of honourable men, they wiU always appoint honour- 

 able judges. Now these gentlemen are introduced to a show 

 room with a competent man, or men, to attend upon them — i. e., 

 to handle birds, when they wish it, skilfully and with care, and 

 to attach the prize cards to the pens bearing the numbers written 

 down by them. The judges should, and I have no doubt do, 

 see that these cards are attached strictly in accordance -n-ith their 

 given judgment. Thus managed, the oflice of a poultry judge 

 is a very simple and straightforward, though often a somewhat 

 difficult, task. There is nothing to indicate from whence came 

 the birds before the judges, or to whom they belong, and they 

 have no right even to guess at these irrelevant questions. Under 

 these circumstances I see no impropriety in committeemen ex- 

 hibiting, nor ought any unfairness or injustice to arise from the 

 fact of their doing so. 



But as regards the system of " local exhibitors being allowed 

 to compete with the same birds for both local and general prizes," 

 I fully concur with " Justice." In fact I would contend, that 

 if the legitimate object of poultry shows is to encouiage improve- 

 ment and friendly emulation in the breeding and rearing of every 

 species of domestic fowl, then "local" prizegiving is highly 

 injudicious, and suicidal to the best intentions of the show. 

 Instead of localising competition I would rather see it become 

 international. 



In cases where local prizes are offered to local specimens. I 

 tbinlr with "JUSTICE" that the "same birds" should not be 

 allowed to compete for another cup also. It is calculated to 

 induce feelings of distrust and doubt in the minds of absent 

 exhibitors, and is therefore prejudicial to the success of poultry 



I venture to send you these few lines because I think the 

 expressed sentiments of poultry-fanciers on these subjects calcu- 

 lated to improve and raise the general tone and management of 

 our exhibitions throughout the kingdom.— Gloucesteeshire. 



Death of Mb. J. J. Fox, of Devizes.— We are sorry to have 

 to record the death of this gentleman, which took place sud- 

 denly on Wednesday last, October 27th, at the age of sixty-five. 

 Mr. Fox was a most kindly benevolent man ; he was an ardent 

 horticulturist, and a keen poultry and Pigeon fancier. Some 

 years since, he wrote a good deal in this Journal about his 

 favourite fowls— Malays. His finely-chiselled and benevolent 

 face was well known at poultry shows. Mr. Fox was also 

 devoted to the microscope, and a very frequent correspondent 

 of " Science Gossip." Indeed, he seemed to love everything 

 that God had made. Mr. Fox had succeeded in life, and passed 

 his latter years in following his favourite pursuits. In his 

 quiet room looking into his garden, with a microscope in the 

 window, and his loved books around him— among them always 



