426 



JOURNAL OF HORTICTJLTUEE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEB. 



[ KoTsmber 2S, 1869. 



greatly increased in jint influence over the poultry world, and 

 become a pleasant reuninn, which should be looked back upon, 

 and looked forward to, durin;,' the whole year. 



Let us simply euppose that the annual meeting of subscribers 

 at the " lien and Chickens " had its basis enlarged to admit of 

 any topic generally interesting to the fancy being introduced, 

 either orally or by iiapir, not exceeding ten minutes in length, 

 provided duo and stated notice had been given ; suppose all 

 subscribers to be considered members of this — the real " poultrj- 

 club " of the world, all the judges also being members ex officio ; 

 and tliat prorision were made for the sense of the meeting being 

 taken whenever de«irablu tn any point, not a merely personal 

 one — I cannot but think great good in many ways would result 

 at a verj' small expense. And do not let the truly Uritish 

 institution be forgotten. Suppose an annual dinner were held, 

 say at four o'clock in the afteraoon on the day found most con- 

 venient, the tickets being only obtainable till a week before- 

 hand at a stated sum. Would not such a gathering be a plea- 

 sant one ? AVould not Mr. •Ilcwitt's good-humoured countenance 

 appear more good-humoiucd still, as he looked round the room 

 on the many whom he has served so faithfully, without charge, 

 during so many years Y Would not asperities be .softened too .- 

 Surely you could hardly feel angry even with the man who had 

 wrested' from you the first prize, as you saw him sitting opposite 

 you radiant w'ith smiles, and, to quote Jo.sh Billings, •' With as 

 neat a little belly on as ever you seedl' Then after dinner, 

 not before, to business. 



Such are some of the thoughts that occur to me, and which I 

 had hoped to have had an opportunity of mentioning in person ; 

 but the early date of the Show this year will, I fear, prevent 

 me being present except on the Saturday, and I therefore utter 

 them through "our Journal." It is too late for this season ; but 

 Btill the subject may arouse more interest now than it would do 

 at another time, and a ic-u suggestions from others might lead 

 to something practical for next year, if the obliging Secretarj", 

 Mr. Lythall, would be so kind as to give his valuable aid. 



I wish distinctly to state that I have no crotchet of my own 

 I particularly want to ventilate at such a gathering. But I do 

 think when a pursuit has attained such a magnitude as the 

 *' poultry fancy," and when good fowls can find an almost cer- 

 tain market at the price of a cow, sovie kind of organisation is 

 most desirable, in order to give occasional expression to its col- 

 lective interests. Now, in the great Birmingham meeting it 

 seems to me we have the material of such an organisation nearly 

 ready to our hands, and that with a little pains the Council and 

 Mr. Lythall might give us what is wanted, and make both a 

 real " poultry club " and an authoritative ''standard of excel- 

 lence " of their great Show. — L. Wright. 



it is pretty certain that white and black, and nhite and yellow, 

 are interchangeable colonrs, whilst red remains unchanged. 

 In evidence of this are the breeding of Pile Game, where all 

 the black feathers of the Black Bed become white, as do the 

 golden or yellow feathers, the red feathers remaining of the 

 same colour ; and that with age Hondans seem to change the 

 black lor white feathers and the white for yellow ; whilst there 

 is a tendency also in white birds to throw a yellow tiuge. 



Some may eay, Cui b ■tio ! I really cannot answer them 

 otherwise than in this way, that there is nothing in the laws ol 

 nature which is not worthy of examination, and that the ex- 

 periments of those who have the leisure to attend to very fmall 

 matters have often led to the greatest and most valaable resnlts ; 

 and this I think a sul:icient answer. 



I must add that an American contribution to yonr cclnmns 

 ii; an event much to be prized. I hope it may be repeated, 

 and that papers from other countries, uarrating experience or 

 asking questions, may follow. It is in this way that the sum 

 of human kuonledge is made up, and knowledge tends to make 

 men better Christians. Some may smile that poullrr-keeping 

 should be thns exalted; but granting the unimportance they 

 would claim for it, they cannot deny that the " mickle " aCtccls 

 the "mnckle," and that everything which is done should be 

 done well and with intelligence. Besides which, all that tends 

 to throw men together in fellowship — to make them better 

 acquainted with one another, however simple it may be, is of 

 more value than the most elaborate schemes for fencing abont 

 a national or an individual exclusiveness. — Egomet. 



OUR POULTRY SHOWS. 



CONSEQUENCES OF ASSOCIATING HENS OF 

 DIFFERENT VARIETIES. 

 In some remarks of yours on the letter of yonr American 

 correspondent lately, mention is made of a circumstance to 

 which my attention has been drawn before. I had the follow- 

 ing statement from a poultry-fancier in Hampshire, who will 

 possibly read this, and who will, I hope, correct any mistake 

 that I may have made. I do not feel at liberty to use his name 

 without his consent, and as I have not his address by me I do 

 not know where to write to him. He will probably authenti- 

 cate what I say. 



Some Spanish hens and BuS Cochin-China hens were kept 

 together, both kinds being carefully bred birds of the best sorts. 

 With them was a Spanish cook equally good. The Spanish 

 chickens were occasionally buff in colour, or with buff feathers. 

 It is some four or five years since the account was sent to me, 

 and I have forgotten these particulars. I mentioned the sub- 

 ject several times to medical men, who gave me reasons why it 

 was physically impossible that any influence could be conveyed 

 by the male bird from one to the other of the kinds of hens — 

 an idea which in the first in.-*tauce suggested itself to me. 

 There is, therefore, no way left of accounting for the matter in 

 this case, as in that mentioned by yourself, but by the same in- 

 fluences which arose from the rods '■ pilled" by Jacob, whereby 

 the cattle became " ringstraked, speckled, and grisled." 



I regret that I have not tried the experiment of keeping 

 breeding hens in places having stripes of colour painted on 

 them ; when I have more time to attend to poultry-keeping 

 agiin I shall do so. I hope some of your correspondents will 

 in the meantime make the attempt, or will favour us with their 

 experiences in the matter of coloar and its changes. I think 



I Qt;iiE agree with "Egomei" in his remarks about "onr 

 poultry shows," and the objectionable practice of committeemen 

 exhibiting, some hoping, no doubt, that the prizes they may 

 win will repay them for their subscription and leave something 

 in pocket besides. If shows are to be made a matter of profit 

 or loss to individual managers, let these open business places 

 and manage them as such ; but I think most of ns look upon 

 poultry and other exhibitions as a means to encourage us to 

 improve the breed of our stock, and to enable those who take 

 an interest in thi.=i for the love of it to compete with their fellow 

 amateurs, and to have an opportunity at these competitions to 

 select the best stock for the improvement of the particular kind 

 or kinds which they prefer ; also to form a correct idea, from the 

 decisions of experienced judges, of what are the most important 

 points required, that lUey may endeavour to obtain these in 

 their own breed. 



There is another objection that I have not yet seen coticed, 

 and that may not at once occur to your reader.", but which I 

 know seriously prevents the more conscientious committeemen 

 from undertaking the arduous and unthankful office. Allowing 

 the committee succeed ia pleasing all exhibitors, and have had 

 numerous cheering and satisfactory letters that the owners 

 have received their stock in good condition, Arc, three or 

 four of the " pecuniarily disinterested " but hard-working and 

 liberal committeemen, may have all their pleasure damped 

 when they find they must each again subscribe a considerable 

 sum in order that ono of their number, equally responsible, 

 although, perhaps, not equally hard-working nor liberal, and 

 certainly not enjoying the other qualification, may be paid his 

 prize money — fairly won, it may be, and probably is — to the 

 amount of, say, £20 or £30, and also let it be the whole amotmt 

 of the deficiency ; in that case it places him in an unenviable 

 position, and his partners in the unpleasant one of feeling that 

 his profit must come out of their pockets. 



In one instance, I know, an official showed his stock, " not 

 for competition." This is commendable, as it helps the funds 

 in the way of entrance fees and improves the exhibition, and 

 his birds were allowed to be the best in the show. Although a 

 comparatively poor man in worldly goods, he generously gave 

 his time and money, and then had to pay something like a 

 sixth of his yearly income to help to make up the prize-winnings 

 of his much richer fellow official, who had competed for the 

 best prizes, and, it may be, borrowed stock from a friend to 

 enable him to do so successfully. I may say that I am not 

 myself one of these, neither related to nor even on friendly 

 terms with them ; but the case is a true one, and I should be 

 glad to see the cause of it discouraged as much as possible. 

 Claude. 



Birmingham Show. — With the approach of the period for the 

 holding of the twenty-first of these great annnal meetings on 



