March 11, 1875. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



207 



a difference of about £2. One pipe alony two sides and one end will bo quite 

 ample to heat the t,'reeuhoase, thoiit^h with two i)ipes you cau regulato tlie 

 heat by valves, and if you at any time wish it you could with the two pipes 

 aloD},' both sides command a stove temperature. If you have a bed on but h 

 sides of the Cucumber house you will need hot-water pipes for each, and the 

 expense would be double. The pipes for top heat ought to he over the bed or 

 upon the walls of the beds. 



Insects in Vinery (Somerset).— \7e failed to find anything in the soih 

 where joa could hardly have thrips or red spider. The other insect in the 

 piece of paper appears the remains of a smashed thrip, which may be destroyed 

 by fumigation with tobacco, but be careful not to apply it too powerfully or 

 the Vines may be scorched. It would have been better to have sent uh a leaf 

 or two of the Vines, for upon those the insects live, and if there is no evidence 

 of them on the leaves you have no cause to be alarmed. 



Seakale with Long Stems lIih'm).~U your plants are not vtry old 

 and the stems thick you may cut them over level with the ground as the heads 

 are cat for use. and new crowna will be formed sulUciontly strong' for forcing 

 another season. If, however, the stems are very thick, it is likely some of 

 them may rot, especially if the weather be wet for some time after cutting; 

 but we think the stems may with safety be cut back, as they have been drawn 

 by the ashes. 



Irish Fern [Qlouce^ter). — It is one of our larest native Forns, Tricho 

 manes brevisetum. 



CuTCKETs (Zfit-m).— Chas3's beetle and cricket poison can be obtained of any 

 chemist. 



Van Thol TnLiPS not Flowering (Q. S. R V— The cauBe. we think, is 

 that the bulbs were not ripened well. All the Vermilions failing con&rms 

 our opinion. Thev were probably grown by a different florist than those with 

 different coloured flowers, which all produced blooms. 



Fruit for N.E. "Wall (S. S.I.— Morello Cherriy; Adams's Pearmain and 

 Starmer Pippin Apples ; Brown Beorre and Winter Nells Pears ; Purple Gage 

 and Peach Plums. 



Deodorising Catgut Manufactory Sewage flTerp).— Try mixing half 

 a hundredweight of sulphate of lime (plaster of Paris) with each hundied 

 gallons. 



Makanta (E. D.). — There were no insects in the soil or roots. They were 

 probably the white Acari that often swarm on decayed roots, and decayed 

 were the rnots of yonr Maranta, probably from being kept too cold and too 

 ■wet. The fleshy-leaved plant is the Aloe perfoliata, the Succotrine or Bitter 

 Aloe. Ic requires a hijjh temperature and dry air to induce its flowering. 

 There is a portrait of the flowers in the " Botanical Magazine." 



Insects on Willow Twigs ( ). — The small yellow grubs boring in the 



young twigs of Willows are the larvie of a Hltle ruidge (Cecidomyia salicina), 

 which are sometimes very injurious to the Willows used by basketmakers. — 

 I. O. W. 



Name of Conifer (G. B.).— It is, we think, Cryptomeria elegans, but the 

 colour is pale for the species, which may be due to its growing in a sheltered 

 position. Ours are of a bright chocolate colour. 



Names of Plants f Ju/(?i).— No. 2 is Sweet-scented Coltsfoot. The other 

 three specimens, being only leaves, we cannot name. (G. A.). — Helichrysum 

 specosissimum. 



POULTEY, BEE, AND PIGEON OHEONIOLE. 



.JUDGES. 



Now, when there is a cessation of poultry exhibitions, and 

 committees are consulting over their Bchedulea for fresh shows, 

 it seems to be a Rood time to say a few words on the judges. 



We have watched and seen with pleasure how many societies 

 have advertised who their judges are to be, for this is a very 

 important announcement. However good a schedule may be, 

 however much trouble a committee may take over their show, 

 unless the judges are up to their work, and men that the poultry 

 fancy have faith in, come to grief that exhibition mnst. Shows 

 are now excessively numerous. Every town — nay, many mere 

 villages — have an open poultry show, and exhibitors conse- 

 quently can pick and choose where to send to. We have heard 

 of shows got up solely for the " benefit " of some few ; but such 

 shows live a short life and collapse, for in these days exhibitors 

 will have justice. 



It is a well-known fact that those shows which do advertise 

 who their judges are to be have the most entries. We noticed this 

 most especially iu December last. In one week alone some four- 

 teen or fifteen exhibitions were held, and, without one exception, 

 those that advertised their judges had the most entries, and 

 those who did not had only one or two entries in some classes. 

 The locality had nothing to do with it, for birds were sent to 

 those places where the owners knew who would judge them 

 irrespective of distance. 



We feel it must be apparent to all promoters of shows that 

 the judges should be known beforehand, for on that must depend 

 more or less the number of their entries. Some committees 

 may think that exhiidtora, knowing who are to judge their birds, 

 might try and make some arrangement with the judges. To 

 such committees we say that a man who can be " arranged 

 with " would soon be found out, and could no longer hold his 

 position. Such a state of things would soon come to light. 



But even to those who do advertise who their judges are to be 

 we would say a word. Most shows have two judges — that is, 

 most shows of any size; to those who only have one we say 

 nothing. Let them go on advertising who that one is to be ; 

 but we think most assuredly that those who have two or more 

 judges should in their advertisement which states who those 



are, state also what classes each is to judge. Take two jadges, 

 say X and 13. A may be a well-known skilful adjudicator, while 

 B may be a bad hand at the woik ; but the entries are made in 

 consequence of A's name being advertised, while B may have 

 to award the prizes in some classes he knows little about. Or 

 A may be more especially at home in some classes, and B iu 

 others. The committee, however, not knowing this, may make 

 out their judging books quite differently, and so again the awards 

 would not be made by that man who the exhibitors at entering 

 expected would make them, for all the exhibitors know the right 

 man for the right work. We frequently see advertised in the 

 Pigeon department — " Mr. C will take the Pouters and Carriers, 

 and Mr. B the remainder." Well, so let it be in poultry. Let 

 exhibitors know who will take the various classes in future at 

 those shows which have more than one judge. We are sure it 

 would pay, and the committee could easily arrange the matter 

 when they correspond with and engage their judges. 



Judges are few, and how very grateful exhibitors should be to 

 those gentlemen who week after week go long journeys to out- 

 of-the-way places to officiate. More judges are wanted, all will 

 agree in thinking, and, what is more, more judges must be had. 

 But we often pause to consider whether exhibitors go the right 

 way to obtain them. Unfortunately men capable for the work 

 do not abound. If a new hand does venture to make a trial 

 every mistake he makes is made ten times more of in and out 

 of print than if it had been made by a well-known hand. We 

 must remember Rome was not built in a day, and a man 

 must have practice before he can become a Teebay or a Hewitt. 

 We have had two or three fresh hands this year, and they have 

 done well, and we hope to see them in the like office again, and 

 be as distinguished for their honesty in their awards as their 

 power of picking out the best birds. Then, again, we are always 

 glad to see a large staff of judges. We believe the awards 

 would give more satisfaction if the judges had a practicable 

 amount of work allotted to them. No man can satisfactorily 

 make awards when he knows that he must hurry through the 

 work to get it over by a given time. — W. 



NORTHAMPTON SHOW OP POULTRY, &c. 



We always look upon this Show as the Lenten one : it comes 

 in mid-Lent, when other shows are over and the birds are 

 all at home resting thankfully after many victories or doing 

 penance for defeat. In the midst of this gloomy season Mr. 

 Humphreys issues his schedule and prepares the great hall in 

 the Corn Exchange for his poultry tournament, which comes 

 like a feast day in the Lenten-tide. Just the very good and 

 best birds which have won many prizes and generally acquitted 

 themselves well are sent to Northampton for the gala day. The 

 catalogue is numbered up to 1390, but we gather from a note at 

 the " finis " that the total number of entries at this capital 

 Show was 1.51-1, taking which number from the former we may 

 reckon that close on 130 entries were made and received late. 

 We do not approve of this plan. It is not fair to those who 

 enter early, and in this matter Oxford may set an example, who, 

 in one year in particular, sent back close on two hundred 

 entries to keep faith with exhibitors. We notice here at North- 

 ampton one lady's numbers were all A's and B's right through,' 

 and we were sorry to learn that her manager made a mistake 

 in the day, and so was hors de combat. 



Before commencing to criticise we must say one word on the 

 excellency of the catalogues — well got up, and awards printed 

 against the names. We wish all committees where it is possible 

 would follow suit and print the awards in the catalogue. We 

 were sorry to find some mistake had arisen with Mr. Turner 

 about the Pigeon pens, and they were consequently not erected 

 in time for Mr. Tegetmeier to finish his awards by daylight, 

 which must account, we suppose, for a few alterations we should 

 like to have made in the Pigeon awards. He had to judge alone, 

 too, for Mr. Gresham did not arrive till he had finished bis 

 labours, which were very considerable. Many extra prizes were 

 awarded, and we were glad to see it ; but this Show could afford 

 to be liberal from the great patronage it received. 



Dorkings were all grouped together. The non-division of 

 Dorkings and absence of Polish classes were the blots on the 

 schedule, and we shall hope to see it remedied next year. Dork- 

 ings were as a whole disappointing. The winners were good, 

 l)ut nothing out of the common. The first and second hens 

 were fine deep hens. 14 (Cheesman), also good. 11 (Lord 

 Massy), a splendid hen, and cheap at catalogue price of 30s. 



Cochins we called a good lot. They had six classes. Buffs 

 were capital. The first cock good all round. Third we pre- 

 ferred to second, he was better in colour. '20 (Winwood), good, 

 and BO was 31 (Feast). In Buff hens, if the first-prize hen were 

 honestly shown, and we almost think she was, she was a bargain 

 at £.3 5s., being a first-class bird. -18 (Leno) was, we believe, 

 the cup hen at Oakham. She looks well. 43 (Sherwood), a 

 capital pullet. In Black or Partridge cocks, the first was an old 

 friend looking well. 55 (Whitworth), a nice Black. In hens, 

 first, second, and third went to Blacks, and all good birds. 



