Jnno 3, 1875. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 



437 



A word also on the treatment of birds nn their arrival. It is 

 imperative that the water tins should not be fnll when the birds 

 first come, as they are bo often— filled, of course, in pure ignor- 

 ance by some attendant who knows about as much of an exhi- 

 bition Dorking as he does concerning an exhibition elephant. 

 Sooner let them be empty than full, for the birds as soon as ever 

 placed in the pens drink up the water, and black combs and 

 swollen crops are the result. Let, then, the tins be a quarter, or 

 at the most a third full, and let the birds have rather a sparing 

 feed of well-mixed ground oats or sweet barleymeal. There 

 have been during past two or three seasons so many disastrous 

 results from injudicious feeding on the arrival of the birds at 

 shows, that we do hope this matter is now generally better 

 understood. 



As regards allowing exhibitors or their managers to pen their 

 own birds we would rather not say much. We know it irf 

 delicate ground, but we abstain from_ treading upon it, knowing 

 it will be a perfect impossibility to please all. Perhaps on the 

 whole we think there is not any harm in allowing it, provided 

 there be plenty of committeemen or authorited people to go 

 round as well and see the birds penned; but whether shows do 

 it or not, all we do say is. Let one and all be treated alike. 

 Let us hear nothing of Mr. Amicus being let in and Mr. Hostis 

 being kept out. That proceeding will never do, and naturally 

 makes the locked-out ones and others feel suspicious. 



And then, lastly, we come to the reports of poultry and 

 Pigeon exhibitions. Captain Talbot wrote a letter on this sub- 

 ject a few weeks ago, and sent it whirling round the poultry 

 journals, bat we do not believe that one lino has ever been 

 written in reply. This must have arisen either from the poultry 

 world objecting to its being so much of a circular ; or else they 

 are, and this we think much the most probable, resting on their 

 oars, thankful beyond expression for the copious and able criti- 

 cisms they are now enjoying. There was doubtless an immense 

 deal of truth in all Captain Talbot wrote, but we are quite sure 

 that it would be an impossibility to find anyone to report syste- 

 matically on our poultry and Pigeon shows who was quite dis- 

 interested. We could not name half a dozen competent people 

 who would thus be able and willing to undertake the work. 

 There are very few men that attend our shows but do so either 

 because of their own birds or those of friends. We believe our- 

 selves all the reports are sufficiently near the truth for all prac- 

 tical purposes, for if we read the various reports of shows in the 

 different jouruals they agree in the main points. As a gentle- 

 man told us the other day, take them cuin grano salis and they 

 will do very well. If this Journal, or any other one, was often 

 wrong in its criticisms, and appeared to treat some exhibitors 

 more favourably than others, the result would be ruin, and so 

 we think that critical comments on birds and show management 

 must be square in the long run. 



If we were to have our judges write also the reports sys- 

 tematically — we say systematically because no doubt some 

 judges do at times send notes on the shows they award the 

 prizes at, and these notes are duly prized and valued, for most 

 attentive readers of the papers can " twig " the different writers' 

 articles and notes though signed with a nojn de plume. Well, 

 we say, if the judges were also the reporters we might perhaps 

 see more careless judging. The criticisms to which their awards 

 are subjected by one and another have no doubt a wholesome 

 if not a pleasant effect on them, and we should be sorry to see 

 this relaxed in any way. Captain Talbot suggested that the 

 reporters when exhibitors should sign their names. This is 

 not a bad idea, but even this is of no real use, as very few are 

 qualified to form a correct opinion about every breed at a large 

 show, and where their knowledge fails they generally get some 

 friend who is up in the breed to lend a helping opinion. No, we 

 think for the most part the present reporting system is very 

 good, and cannot well be improved upon. We recommend, how- 

 ever, exhibitors and others not to adopt an hasty conclusion as 

 to the authorship of different reports, for this may bring trouble 

 upon them. We ourselves know of one gentleman who happened 

 to hear that a certain party was at times wont to send notes on 

 shows to this very Journal. Well, this gentleman, whom we 

 will call Mr. A, met the other party, whom we will term Mr. B, 

 at three cr four shows. Mr. B was himself an exhibitor at 

 those shows, and on each occasion won the first prize or cup in 

 severe competition, and his pens were consequently lauded, not 

 only in this Journal but in others. Mr. A having seen Mr. B at 

 the shows immediately put t*o and two together and tried to 

 make five, for he set about the report that Mr. B had written 

 the reports himself, and eulogised so highly his own specimens, 

 when as it happened Mr. B. had never written one single word 

 of the said reports. — W. 



Bramlet Show op Poultry, &g. ■ — ■ We have received the 

 schedule of the fourth annual Show to be held at Bramley in 

 Yorkshire. In all sections the prizes are 1.5s., 7s. CA, and 2s. dd. 

 For poultry there are twenty-two classes, one silver cup and a 

 water fountain being offered as extras. In Pigeons are twenty- 

 one classes with five extras — viz., a cup as one, a pair of Pigeons 



as another, a Batty's water fountain and bath combined, one 

 silver medal, and a Batty's self-feediug hopper — useful articles, 

 we are glad to see, in lieu of the ever-recurring cup. In Rabbits 

 there are eight classes, with an extra 10s. for Lops and two 

 boxes for the other breeds. Cage Birds having also eight classes, 

 with a six-holed breeding cage, and a cage cathedral-shape as 

 extras. The schedule is a good one and we commend it to the 

 notice of our readers. The Judges are (as in all cases they should 

 be) announced on the schedule. They are Mr. E. Hutton and 

 Mr. W. Cannan. 



BATH AND WEST OF ENGLAND POULTRY 



SHOW. 



We only had one spare day this week, and we wanted to spenfl 

 that day in a proper sort of manner. We had a long debate 

 where we should go to ; for we wanted to see this Society's 

 meeting, we wanted to see the dogs at the Palace, and we wanted 

 to see the horses at Islington — in fact we wanted to do every- 

 thing. It was an emharras df richesae, and we did not know 

 which promised the best. Mr. Goodwin and his troupe we 

 knew ; we met them many years ago at Salisbury, and we have 

 since visited their leviathan meetings annually. We have heard 

 the cooks crow at Taunton, and Guildford, and Plymouth, and 

 goodness knows where besides, for this Society is very erratic 

 in its movements, and strides from Somersetshire to Surrey in 

 one bound. 



" With thymey breath and bees that hum, 

 Across the years it seemfl to come." 



But old loves are the true loves, and so to the old love we 

 adhered, and Croydon was the chosen one out of the three dainty 

 dishes. And when we got there — why, it did seem like old 

 times. We could almost have fancied that the whole concern 

 had been packed up last June on the Clifton downs, labelled 

 "This side up with care," consigned to Croydon, and there un- 

 packed again. It all seemed identical. The tents, the flags, the 

 stalls, the very people's faces all seemed the same, and every- 

 thing looked if possible brighter than ever. We may safely say 

 to this Society — 



'* Where'er you go, where'er you pass, 

 There comes a gladness o'er the grass." 



Yes, we were indeed glad we chose Croydon. We should have 

 been sorry to have neglected this old love in its time of mirth. 

 It was truly pleasant to walk among the old familiar things. 

 We saw ploughs and carts painted as bright as ever. We saw 

 cucumber-cutters, pea-shellers, potato-mashers, all working away 

 as if they had never stopped since last year. We saw what 

 appeared to us the same imitation-marble mantel-pieces, grouped 

 as if they were going to have afternoon tea together, with im- 

 possible-looking Ferns and fruits growing upon them, vainly 

 trying to look natural. We threaded our way past bright pink 

 pigs and sleek Alderney cattle, past cattle foods and poultry 

 condiments. We walked through conservatories and green- 

 houses. We gazed at marvellous wirework manufactures, and 

 saw turnip-cutters working away like steam-engines. It was, 

 however, like going from London to Cambridge to get to Oxford, 

 such a way round it seemed ; but at last we heard the welcome 

 sounds, and the poultry tent was close at hand. As we entered 

 it, and gave one preliminary peep round, we felt we should take 

 even a still greater interest in this our favourite departmenthad 

 we not remembered that the " Sunday detention" was here in 

 force. But we have alluded to that before in these pages con 

 cerning this Society, and will do so no more, hoping that before 

 another year comes round someone will try and arrange it 

 differently, for — and we speak advisedly — we can name no less 

 than seven former patrons of this Society's poultry shows who 

 have not exhibited this year because they will not countenance 

 this Sunday business. We must say a word, however, to con- 

 demn the soft food upon which the poultry were fed. It more 

 resembled barley chaff than barley meal, and the birds did nob 

 care for it at all. Then, too, we walked from pen to pen among 

 the Pigeons, and nearly every water tin was empty and most of 

 them full of dirt. Such things should not be at a meeting of 

 such fair fame as this Society enjoys. It was a long while before 

 all the prize cards were up. When we left at 4 p.m. on the first 

 day some of them were still not put up ; and considering the 

 birds — poor creatures ! — had to be in on Saturday, there really 

 was no excuse. The Judges were Messrs. Tegetmeier and Har- 

 rison Weir, and we saw ourselves the great trouble they took 

 over the awards, and if they were not all quite satisfactory we 

 must remember the immense labour they had, for there were 

 530 pens, and those mostly above the ordinary quality. Most; 

 certainly the Committee, when they saw the large number of 

 entries they had, should have engaged the services of anothei- 

 Judge to help, for it is as unfair to the Judge as to the exhibitors 

 for one man to have so much work to do in a short time. 



Spanish came first on the list, and the two classes brought 

 thirty-seven pens. The quality was splendid, most of the 

 Bristol fanciers exhibiting. The oup-winner was a grand cock. 



