508 



JOURNAL OF nORTICULTURE AKD COTTAGE GARDBNEB. 



[ December 3?}, IH^. 



ffwad beil(]«(1 in a tbin Inytr of wliitu load at the two ond- meroly, und 

 ihtj took double the time to OT.ipontr the water plncf-d in 'them 

 wMch similar vessels did that had r«ct-ivia a bcddioK' all their Ipo^tb : 

 haace bnch evaporating li>>nfiha cast on the pipe are butter than any 

 nerely placed on it, ihouKh budded. These bviiporating vessels Bbould 

 alwmjH be placed on the flow pipcH. Vciir proposed mode of wrapping 

 e^agnum moHS tightly over the lnwt_T or relaru pipe, find sprinkliiiK 

 MO€to moss twice ndny with water, would Dnly b« juHt brll.i than «prink,- 

 liag the bipea nt once now and then. We know that many hold a wmilar i 

 •pinion to that which you entertain— namely, that thu'' tiie pipes would ■ 

 •end off more bent by evaporation contiuaally goin^oo. With all respect, ; 

 we do not agree with you, for first, as shown some time ago, the more 



evnp<iration pmceedintr from a surface the more will that atirfaeo be 

 poob'd. Then, uecoudJy, unle>iH you water tbo moes-covi-red pipf» more 

 than twice a-day. the rifting of vapour will not bu coutiaaous, fur an soon 

 as the moss next the pipi's become* dry. the dry mosn will act as a non- 

 conductor of heat, and If the mos^ in at all Ihfck, the oatfltdo Injrer, tbonub 

 damp, wilt emit UtUn more Tapoar than if the moaa wore laid oa the 

 ■ground near tbo nipos ; and InitLly, when tho m'isa geti dry round the 

 pi pea, the pipes themselves may become hot, bat the hcfttwUl not bo 

 radiated freely Into the house. 



Kamk of FnriT (J. BrF,.in),— Ynnr Aprle In Coo's Golden I>Tnp. 



Xa»e ov Plant (J. K.I.— That which you encloaed la not the seed, 

 bat part of the seed-TeaaoI, of the Honesty, Lunaria blaoais. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS ia the Suburbs of Londoa for tUe week ending December ngi. 



BAJtovrrsB. 



Ulai. 



Mln. 



SPfiOO 



1'9.7'jt; 



a9.50-J 

 a«).95S 



2y.3(kl 



29.3S9 

 29.038 

 2J.5M 

 29 851 



21).tt5 

 a).4l'.0 

 S9.27i> 



2!).5(H 2D.414 



rBEHMOMETEB. 



Max. Uio. 



53 

 BB 

 1.4 



41 



80 

 37 

 37 

 40 



ir, 



3i 



51 67 32.71 



1 ft. dp. 



43 



4:; 



4.-> 

 46 

 48 

 45 

 44 



ft dp. 



Wind. 



Bain In 



inobM. 



42 

 4:2 

 4:l 

 4S 

 4B 

 44 



a 



44.86 



W. 



s. 



w. 



s.w. 



w. 



S.W. 



N.W. 



.00 

 60 

 .0? 

 .00 

 .00 

 .30 

 .40 



CiNnu; RsiuiKt. 



Boisterouit; boifltoronn and Rtornty; dear nod fine. 

 Cluudy but flne; dcnueiy overcast; boistormis with rain. 

 Clear niid fine ; very flne ; oTwrcoAt, cold wind. 

 DrizzlinR rain : densely ovorcnst ; boisterous. 

 Vcr^- flne ; clondy bnt fine ; stormy uX nigbl. 

 Clear and frosty ; Tery flne ; clear, mln at nit^ht. 

 Bain, deaa« log ; beaTy rain ; cloudy and cold. 



^OUITRY. BEE. AND PIGEON CHROXICLB. 



COMMITTEEMEN EXHIBITING. 



The question of .nniriitteomen being allowfd to exLibif, wbich 

 hM been so mach discussed lately, ia a most important onp ■ and 

 m «ddme a few words in support of the views of ••Ai.iqVih" 

 and others I would suggest that the matter should he regarded 

 not with reference to the interests or wishes of exhibitors, com- 

 DMttecmen, or any mere individuals whatever, but to the "eneral 

 and most lasting interests of the poiUtn- fanev itself. ° Indi 

 Tiduals maybe dissatisfied, or mar even bo rJallv a-'Ticved ■ 

 but there arc many things to be considered ere it is'oon. luded a,s 

 bert on the wholo for officers to be prohibited from competition; 

 «nd this larrr. view of the question, it appears to me, •' E«o-«et " 

 and others have somewhat lost sight of. 



One of these things was tourhed upon bv " As- Oin CoMitiT- 

 TBMA.N," when he mentioned the effect of such a rule at Bristol 

 or Birannghttm, m a way the force of which was eWdently felt 

 by " Eeo>rET." Let me recall his argrument, but in more defi- 

 nite terms. Supp ,se at Birmingham Mr. Mapplebcck's and Mr 

 Tomhnson's BufI Cochins had been debarred from competition ■ 

 suppose at Bnstcl the Spanish of Messrs. Lane, Parslev, RouSj 

 and Jones must have stood aside; suppose at Beverley, 'Middle- 

 ton, Whitehaven, and the Yorkshire shows, various wel'-known 

 yards of Game, Bantams, and Hamburghs could not compete, 

 i think It cannot be denied that at the^e shows an inferior stan- 

 dOTd of beauty would be held up for imitation, and beginners and 

 ethers would not have before them a true idea of what perfect 

 birds should be. To put this into genera) terms, that in every 

 place the best birds should be shown and should win, seems to 

 me, if poultrj'-Veeping be not a mere useless hobbv, to be of all 

 pomtsthe most important of all; and if it be lost sight of, the 

 effect m the end must be that localities now celebrated for certain 

 breeds wiU lose their pre-eminence from want of ;i true ideal, for 

 the same exhibitor seldom continncs beyond a certain period; 

 md if the ,,■,■!<• mo:, which are the life of the fancy, cannot see 

 tte beat models it needs no prophet to foretell the result. 



Egomet," however, replies to this that tlie breeders in ques- 

 tion should withdraw from the committees, and that there are 



plenty of others capable of taking their pluces." From per- 

 sonal knowledge oi the two principal shows namtd I ran sav 

 that this IS .a mistake; that it is the actual breeders of poultir 

 who, as a rule, are the life and soul of a commitUe ; und that 

 with regard to the Bristol Show, it would never have been 

 attempted but for the 6rst determined efforts of a few exhibitors 

 alone. I repeatedly notice that in most cases the withdrawal of 

 a name from the ranks of exhibitors is followed bv retirement 

 from committees also— there is a case at Bristol this very year ■ 

 and careful and extended observation of many schedules has 

 oouTinctd me that only fanciers and exhibitors are likely or 

 even able, permanently to do the real work of a .show. 



Fmally, I may state that since this discussion i ommenced I 

 have taken the trouble of .asking many members of several im- 

 portant committees, who all assure me 'that in point of fact they 

 themselves would not only resign their office, bat their commit- 



tees would totally break down, were such a rule attempted to be 

 enforced. 



I think, further, that with the best of onr judges no dissatin- 

 faction would ever arise. Fancy any committeeman " trying it 

 on " with Messrs. Hewitt or Teebay. I think I see him do it ! 

 Everyone knows the readiness of those gentlemen to oblige 

 where they can, but everyone knows too, or may know if he 

 only try, that such an attempt would only succeed in " black- 

 balling" even the finest pen in the world. To suppose any of 

 the recognised judges, as tliey may be called, capable of such 

 criminal weakness is not only an insult, but is t-antamount to 

 confessing we may as well refuse to show altogether, for others 

 besides committeemen can " work the oracle " at a poultry show. 

 Have good judges, and wo shall — bar occasional mistakes which 

 must occur — have good awards. 



Yet there have been glaring cases. It is of no use to deny 

 this ; and the question is. What is the remedy ? I reply is-ithout 

 hesitation. Systematic, fearless exposure. Xo need of strong 



language ; simply state the facts — c.17., " At Show lag 



week a member of the Committee named took prizes 



evidently not deseri-ing them. He was seen to converse with th 



Judge, who was Mr. ." This curried out regularly woul 



soon answer all needful ends. It is well to remark, however 

 that a committeeman may deservedly win many prizes, and on 

 angry competitor will do well to obtain disinterested opinion ere 

 he makes complaint. But if he be clearly in the right no judge 

 ■ — for it must be really him with whom any actual guilt lies — 

 could stand repeated exposure of such falsity to his trust. 



One word finally. I was much struck i»-ith " Koohtet's '* 

 refusal to consider "Aliqi-is" as an "opponent." It did me 

 good. 1 shake hands with him mentilly, ond may his health bo 

 eaten in every fowl killed between now and Christmas I I really 

 do think Ihe'fancy is " looking up" when good men and true — 

 kindly, hearty. Christian gentlemen, meet round the centre line 

 of '• our Journal " pages, and in good fellowship and good will 

 discuss earnestly all that bears lipon the pursuit they love so 

 well. The best interests of the fancy are what we all have at 

 heart, and in the end will come out benefited by all that thus 

 take* place. It was so, for instance, in the trimming business. 

 In prominently ventilating this subject la.st season I manifestly 

 injured my own individual interests in every way ; yet I got 

 many hard knocks, and views and opinions were freely fathered 

 upon me which I never penned. I am not prepared to say no 

 word escaped me which I would wish recalled ; but in a great 

 measure the object was gained, ;ind I have the pleasure of know- 

 ing now that some of the judges, at first naturally irritated by 

 what they thought intended for censure upon th«m, have long 

 since given me credit for very different feelings, and learnt to 

 rejoice that the question was brought forward. It will be the 

 same in this discussion. ^V^lat is mistake on either side will 

 pass away to be forgotten, but aU that Ls good will remain for the 

 prosperity of the fancy and for the benefit of us all. — L. VTiuoht. 



MORE TIME FOR JUDGING. 

 It is high time that the committees of management of poultry 

 exhibitions should make arrangements tor the judges to hare 



