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JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND OOTTAQB GARDENER. 



[ February 4, 1875. 



bread give it; if not, rape Beed is best, and in a few days give it 

 split or crushed corn, but on no account whole com. Old birds 

 ought to be fed on crushed com always. — W. WooDHonsE, 

 King^s Lynn. 



DOEKINGS. 



I FEEL very loth to take exception to anything that my friend 

 Mr. Coke Burnell may say on the subject of Dorkings, and yet 

 there is a passage in his interesting contribution of last week to 

 which I should like to call his attention as well as that of other 

 Dorking fanciers. 



With his statement respecting the brief span allotted to Dork- 

 ing cocks I quite agree. I recently bought for a trifling sum a 

 cock whose shape and style I much admired, and which, 

 curiously enough, I found had passed a portion of his time in 

 Mr. Burnell's yard, in the hope that I should be able to use him 

 for breeding, but at present he seems of no service. I should 

 think his age is abouc three years. " Dorking hens, however," 

 says Mr. Burnell, " do better ; and I now know," he continues " a 

 dark Dorking hen which has twice won the cup at the Crystal 

 Palace Show, and which is still flourishing and winning, though 

 certainly over eight years old." 



As I happen to have won the Dorking cup at the Palace in the 

 old class at the two last shows, I felt rather puzzled when I 

 read those words. The hen that won the cup at the Palace in 

 1874 is not yet four years old. I am glad to say that she is still 

 flourishing and winning, as she was given the cup at Bristol by 

 a Judge who had never seen her before ; yet I should indeed be 

 sanguine if I expected to win with her untU certainly over 

 eight years old. But possibly Mr. Burnell is alluding to another 

 hen ; if so, I hope we shall hear something more of this interest- 

 ing old lady. 



My hen, though not four years old, is beginning to look very 

 aged about the eyes, and another valuable hen that I kept for 

 several years — I mean for three or four years — became so pitiable 

 an object that I was really glad when an accident put an end to 

 her existence. 



Whilst writing I should like to say a word on a point respect- 

 ing which I fear that I differ from some of my fellow fanciers. 

 I see sometimes remarks which appear to indicate that Dorkings 

 onght to be short on the leg. I do not believe that birds which 

 are short on the leg ever can be, or at all events are, so heavy as 

 those whose " columns of support " are longer. As weight and 

 size are important features of a Dorking, a tolerable length of 

 leg seems to me essential to a really fine bird. I am not advo- 

 cating "leggy" birds; on the other hand, I wish to say that 

 from my experience I think it a great mistake to insist upon a 

 Dorking being a decidedly short-legged bird. — E. B.UiTBUM, 

 Berkhainpsted, Herts. 



HOUDANS. 



Wishing to breed Houdans of a true strain, I hailed the ap- 

 pearance of the standard for the same in the Horticultural 

 Jourtial of June 4th and 11th of last year. With this standard 

 before me, I must say the awards at the last Birmingham 

 Poultry Show are a puzzle to me. I was not there to see, but 

 I read in a contemporary journal, " Second-prize pullet had 

 palpably blue legs." Is this right? We were under the im- 

 pression that they should be white spotted with black. 



In the Horticultural Journal of December 3rd : — " First 

 cock is a tall bird, thorough French Houdan in look, his only 

 blemish being some rudimentary feathers on his legs. Second 

 well marked and large, but tuft poor, and feathers appear on his 

 legs too. First pullets very large, but too dark in plumage, and 

 one with a poor tuft." 



At the Aberdeen Poultry Show of the 8th and 9th ult. I saw 

 the birds. The first-prize (as also the second if I remember 

 rightly) had only rudimentary combs, and seemed very coarse- 

 grown birds. The comb being absent you could hardly say 

 these birds were cocks. 



Then, as to feeding, fowls are granivorous. This is the main 

 reason of the delicacy of their flesh and eggs ; but since Judges 

 (at least here) give prizes only for size, the public will be sus- 

 picious and somewhat revolted when they learn how that is 

 obtained, and that one is recommended to "do as others do, feed 

 one's birds on horseflesh." Supposing this feeding was allowed, 

 the difficulties of obtaining fresh horseflesh would be great, and 

 a temptation thrown-out in many cases to have poultry fed with 

 mere offal. 



Is it fair for birds honestly fed on the best grain and meal to 

 have to compete with birds fed on any kind of flesh ? That 

 this is the practice of breeders and exhibitors I am aware, for I 

 have in my hands a note from one of the successful exhibitors 

 at the Birmingham Show, saying there was no harm in using 

 flesh (I had said horseflesh in my note to him). These shows 

 require to be well looked after and criticised publicly, as you 

 are aware. — Saheina. 



[We hail your letter with pleasure. We know you will believe 



us when we say nothing is so nnpalatable as the truth. We 

 are neither going to defend or impugn the Houdan judgments 

 at Birmingham, but we will say without the least fear of con- 

 tradiction, being importers of fifteen years' standing, that the 

 stubs or nascent feathers on the legs are almost the rule. They 

 never grow to feathers. Standards are excellent things, but 

 they are prone rather to describe that which is desirable and 

 should be, than that which can be had. The legs of Houdans 

 should be black and white, and all were so at Birmingham ; but 

 even in the standard it is not stated which colour should 

 predominate. As regards dark plumage, some prefer it, others 

 like lighter. In many instances even exhibitors prefer that 

 which they have. There are also differences in critics. We 

 believe it is Lord Macaulay who says no historian can be im- 

 partial. We think the same of critics. We like to believe they 

 are honest, but spite of all endeavours we cannot believe them 

 impartial. The combs should be well developed. The Houdan 

 is a table fowl, and should have all the properties of such a bird. 

 It is called the French Dorking, probably from its five claws. 

 It should have the properties of its English associate. Remove 

 the legs, head, and tail, and it should leave a square. When 

 the size of the top-knot is made a complaint to the exclusion of 

 the weight that should attach to the more valuable properties, 

 it is a mistake, and may be attributed to the desire felt by the 

 reporter or critic to say something that may vouch for his 

 superior knowledge of the subject. Some go to approve every- 

 thing, others view all things through a yellow glass. 



Your remarks as to feeding are correct. A competent judge 

 should be capable of distinguishing between a bright healthy 

 bird with a frame capable of carrying a top weight and willing 

 to put it on, and another weighing from the fact of having fed 

 on raw flesh. No question has done more harm than that of 

 brute weight overriding properties ten times as VEdnable. Fowls 

 are granivorous and should not be fed like cats.] 



DORSET SHOW OF POULTRY, &c. 



This was held at the Town Hall and Com Exchange, Dor- 

 chester, on January 27th and 28th. 



Poultry matters are looking-up " inthe westconntree." Just 

 recently I had to chronicle a splendid success at Bristol, and 

 now I gladly "make a note of" another success at Dorchester. 

 The county town of Dorsetshire is no modern-looking or wide- 

 extending place ; it has no northern bustle about it ; but it has 

 a look of its own — quite its own ; four avenues of trees, right 

 ancient ones, with broad gravel drives between them, seem to 

 run round the town, or rather the town lies in the square in the 

 midst. All is square, all right angles, at Dorchester; the main 

 streets, as in a kindred place, Chichester, cross each other at 

 right angles, only there is no ancient cross as there to fill the 

 central space. Walking from the station I enter one of the 

 four streets, pass upward, and before me at the opposite angle 

 is a well-built Town Hall and Corn Exchange, with pretty clock 

 turret at the corner, quite a marked object. Here the poultry 

 Show is held. The building might be taken for an ancient 

 place restored, or a comparatively modem one, which indeed it 

 is. A throng is outside of foot people, and a continuous driving- 

 up of carriage people. The waiter at the hotel where I dined 

 told me " he had never seen Dorchester so full for many a day, 

 and that he had had no time to sit down as yet and eat a meal." 

 This was said at four o'clock. I see in this that an old county 

 town is a good place to hold a show in. People go there to shop 

 and chat, and if the day be fine the show is a nice object for a 

 drive. The day was indeed fine — too fine and mild, a grumbler 

 would say, for January ; but enjoy the day, say I, and leave the 

 future. "Take the good the gods provide you," leave the rest. 

 Elbowing my way through the crowd, admiring Dorsetshire 

 carriages and horses, and their occupants and riders (N.B. — 

 Dorsetshire ladies are among the best-looking in England), I 

 enter the Corn Exchange where the poultry is exhibited. The 

 pens were Mr. Billett's, and they were well arranged, and a good 

 space between. This better than Bristol, where the space was 

 rather too narrow. The place is full, and a side room, or rather 

 end room, is also full of Ducks and Geese. Looking round 

 generally I ascend the staircase to the Town Hall, where are 

 the special objects of my visit — the Pigeons. 



It is always agreeable, when it can be done, that the Pigeons 

 should occupy a separate room ; but, of course, this cannot 

 always be the case. This Town Hall was perfection ; pretty in 

 itself, with its open oak roof, and the shields and coats of armour 

 of various families filling sufficiently the walls, while the light 

 from the windows was excellent. The prize-shown Pigeons 

 were in rows in the centre, while a beautiful collection of 

 Pheasants, fourteen pens, were at the end and one side. The 

 Pheasants were Golden, Silver, Piebald, Japanese, and one 

 pen of the splendid " Reeve's Pheasants." A well-supplied 

 refreshment stall occupied the other side ; and so suitable 

 and pretty the room, and so good the arrangements, that I 

 must own I never beheld a more bright-looking show. The 

 number of pens in the Town Hall, Pigeons chiefly, was about 



