June 10, 1875. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOBTICULTDKE AND COTTAGK GABDENEK. 



461 



placed the birds in the office. The refreshment ceremony over 

 ■we returned to our baskets. Ah ! some one making an aperture 

 between the lid and the side to get a view of our cup-winners 

 to be. How short-sighted he must be I he seems to want to get 

 his whole head in, we thought. Ah ! in goes a stick. A dab 

 here and a dab there, and out it comes again. We lay our hands 

 gently on the individual's arms, and beg to know the cause of 

 bis anxiety. " We saw a hegg." Quite right to say saw, for it 

 was not then to be seen ! The porter, a poultry-fancier in em- 

 bryo perhaps, had seen the egg. Perhaps with a three-miuutes- 

 boiled dainty iu his eye for breakfast, perhaps with a hope of 

 obtaining a cup-winner, this servant of the railway had made 

 several grabs at the egg, and in his endeavour to fish it up, or, 



Eerhaps, only to get it in better perspective to see its colour (?), 

 ad broken it, and the inhabitants of the basket quietly allow- 

 ing the contents of their produce to foul their plumage and 

 stick their feathers together lost the cup, as we were afterwards 

 told, '' for want of a washing." 



We could quote more cases, but enough. We have shown 

 that we ourselves know of a bird losing its tail, of a bird being 

 too late, and of a bird being dirtied in his plumage. In each 

 case the mischief was done at a railway junction close to the 

 neighbourhood where the show was to take place, and done 

 unintentionally. We kuow of no remedy that we can suggest 

 to be really effective; we merely name these cases to show that 

 exhibitors must not always think when the plumage of their 

 birds is injured that it is done purposely by some jealous fellow 

 exhibitor lo prevent its winning. 



There have been several new baskets invented of late with 

 curtains and iiitings to prevent the inmates being touched, and 

 we strongly advise the use cf them to those exhibitors who do 

 not personally take their birds to shows or send them "with their 

 servants ; and we also think the plan Mr. King, the worthy 

 honorary secretary of the Oxford Show, suggested and, we 

 believe, carried out, a good one — viz., of sending some respon- 

 sible men on the day the birds are due at the show to the chief 

 neighbouringjunctionSjthat they may keep an eye on and hasten 

 the transit of the baskets which come unaccompanied by atten- 

 dants, both on their journey to and from the exhibition. — W. 



POULTET HAUNTS.— No. 2. 



MB. W. O. QUIBELL, NEWABK-ON-TBENT. 



I AM ashamed to think how long a time has passed since the 

 idea first struck mo of giving a notice of some of the homes of 

 our fanciers from whence come some of the most celebrated 

 winners of prizes at our great poultry exhibitions, and of glean- 

 ing such information as might be interesting to those who like 

 myself, while not going in for it extensively, are yet more or 

 less affected by the poultry mania ; but although I have been 

 several times asked what I was about in not carrying on my 

 project, the claims of other matters, especially of those pertain- 

 ing to flowers, have prevented my doing so. I may claim, I 

 hope, a little consideration from the readers of our Journal, to 

 whatever portion of it they look, when I plead the labour and 

 correspondence that have been entailed on me in the attempt to 

 form a Horticultural Club, which is now, I am glad to say, an 

 accomplished fact, and which will form, I hope, a rallying point 

 for all interested in those pursuits which our Journal advocates. 



Is it strange that we should gravitate towards those things in 

 which we are especially interested, or that we should find out 

 that we can overcome difficulties when they are to be reached ? 

 I have been and am an admirer of Houdans. I like their ap- 

 pearance, though some call them ugly. I like them on the table, 

 for they are amongst the whitest aud best of fowls — so different 

 from Brahmas, concerning which I saw a letter the other day 

 from one who had kept them, that he would as soon think of 

 putting an owl on his table as one of them ; and I have until the 

 present year liked them for laying. I made my complaint about 

 them, but I am inclined to think that I have fed mine too well, 

 and that was the cause of their being so tardy in beginning. 

 They have gone on very well since they began, although my 

 yard was reduced by one-half owing to a violent outbreak of 

 roup consequent on the long cold winter; aud I hope that they 

 will redeem their character with me next season, when, if I 

 am spared, I hope to speak better things of them. Well, I had 

 enjoyed a long morning at Belvoir, of which I shall hope to have 

 something to say shortly, and was on my way to Manchester. 

 But would it not be posbible to stop at Newark for two or three 

 hours and see Mr. Quibell's fowls ? It was worth the trial. Mr. 

 Ingram added to his many acts of courtesy by sending me into 

 Granth.im, and as the trap drew up at the station the train for 

 Newark ran in. I was just in time to take my ticket, shoulder 

 my bag and step in. When I reached Newark I started off for 

 Mr. Quibell's, and as I came near to where I thought it was I asked 

 a servant girl whom I met the direction in which to go. This 

 she did not tell me, wisely, but pointing to a gig which was just 

 detained at the railway crossing by the train — " That," she said, 

 pointing to the gentleman ia it, "is Mr. Quibell." Thanking 

 her for the information, I accosted him, and was told that he 



was very sorry that he was obliged to go into the country, but 

 that he had left; orders for me to see his birds, and that his 

 poultryman would give me any information he could. Inquiring 

 my way, I soon found out the locale, which was none other than 

 the old Castle of Newark, which is occupied by Mr. Quibell, 

 who is an agricultural chemist. I was soon introduced to the 

 poultryman, and we were quickly deep in conversation upon our 

 favourites. The old birds were here peuned-off for breeding, 

 but the younger birds were at some lit tie distance iu the country, 

 so that I did not see them. As nearly everywhere breeding was 

 late this year, and I fancy that this will tell hy-and-by. How- 

 ever, there is this to be said for the French breeds, that early 

 chickens are not so great a desideratum as with some breeds. 

 They grow so rapidly that they soon make up for the lateness 

 of hatching. The largest bird I ever exhibited as a cockerel 

 (weighing nearly 9 lbs.) vjas not hatched until the 23rd of April ; 

 and Mr. Quibell's man coincided with the opinion expressed to 

 me by Mr. Wood, that early hatching was not so needful with 

 either Houdans or Cieve-Creurs. 



As the fancy of judges varies, Mr. Quibell determines to be 

 utruuique paratus ; and if they prefer the lighter, which is, after 

 all, the true type cf Houdan, he has a fine male bird paired off 

 with some liglit hens, while in another pen he has the darker 

 and more generally preferred type. The bird that has for two 

 seasons won the Crystal Palace cup was here, and although it is 

 a bad time of the year to see birds iu the brilliancy of their 

 plumage, yet he looked uncommonly well, not " bearing his 

 honours meekly, but as if, having already conquered, he was 

 determined to go in aud win." In comparing the strains of the 

 three most successful exhibitors of Houdans that we have I 

 fancy that one can see a distinction in them. Mr. Wood's birds, 

 especially his male birds, seem to have the advantage in size. 

 I had a monster bird of his which weighed at one time quite 

 9J lbs. ; but then I think this sizn was obtained by a sacrifice of 

 refinement — legs too heavy, and the body too much inclined to 

 settle down on them instead cf being well up. I have seen no 

 hens that I think equal to my friend and neighbour Mr. Dring's ; 

 and although I know he has had a very long price for one of his 

 male birds, I cannot say that I think bis strain of these as 

 already shown equal to Mr. Quibell's. There is a refinement 

 of limb combined with excellence of crest, beard, &c., which in 

 my poor judgment fully justifies the high position they have 

 attained at some of our chief exhibitions. As to the vexed 

 question of comb, I cannot agree with those judges who wish 

 to see them so open. It is not the characters given to them by 

 the French writers on poultry, who ought to know their own 

 breeds, one would think. The central boss, or whatever we 

 may call it, like a strawberry ought to be present ; but the comb 

 itself is, according to Jacques, of various forms, and does not 

 follow so rigid a rule as that of the Cieve-Cceur. 



While Mr. Quibell's older birds are at Newark the chickens 

 were at some distance from the town, having the benefit of a 

 grass run which they could not have in the old Castle yard. 

 What prize-winners there maybe amongst them I know not; 

 but of this I am sure, that I would not desire for my own stock 

 a finer or better bird than his cup bird. 



In the matter of feeding and care I find but little difference. 

 All Houdan breeders acknowledge their hardiness and their 

 capacity for grubbing for themselves, and, despite the disap- 

 pointment I experienced this year, I shall still cling to them as 

 all in all the kind I like best. — D., Deal. 



SCHEDULES OF SHOWS. 



Boston holds its sixth Exhibition of poultry. Pigeons, EabbitSi 

 and cage birds on June 22ad and 23rd, at the same time as the 

 horticultural show. P-jultry have six i'3 pieces of plate. Pigeons 

 three value £2 each, and Rabbits one of 30s. How much better it 

 would he to give the cash instead of pieces of plate of so small 

 value. The birds are to be shown on the single- bird system. 

 Dorkings of all colours and Cochins of all colours have to 

 compete together, and the Committee do not deserve an entry 

 in these classes until they break them up more. Black Ham- 

 burghs have no class. Creves and Houdans are well taken care 

 of. There ia no variety Duck class, and Game Bantams, except 

 Black or Brown Reds, have to go into the variety Bantam class. 

 The poultry entry fee is 4s. per pen. The Pigeons are also to 

 be shown singly. Carriers are magnificently seen after; they 

 have six classes, a cup and eighteen prizes. Tumblers have 

 four classes and Pouters two, one of which we are glad to see is 

 for Whites. The entry fee ia only 2s. 6d. The Boston people 

 evidently love Pigeons better than poultry. Rabbits, too, have 

 thirteen classes with three prizes iu each class, of which thirteen 

 classes four go the Lop-eared. The entry fee is 2s. G(Z. ^ 



The rules tell us " gentlemen of acknowledged ability " will 

 award the prizes. Why are their names not announced ? That 

 is blot No. 1. Each pen of poultry— j.e, each individual cock 

 or hen, must be in a separate basket — blot No. 2. The rest of 

 the rules are pretty much as usual, except that tickets are given 

 to exhibitors, which is a most proper arrangement. 



