NoTember 19, 1874. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTDBE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEP. 



457 



Bc'contl pullet will soou be bumble-footed. Third rather liRht iu 

 colour. Fourth was a luifitiike, as she had very sooty feet and 

 >ullon* toe-nails, i^ifth a bad colour, but large aud good in feet. 

 Peu 113 (RuttUdge) was large aud dark, aud should have been in 

 ihe prize list. Peu 117 (Bartrum), good colour aud comb, but 

 sooty feet. Pea 124 (Pilkingtou) fourth aud fifth toes joined, 

 otherwise a very good bird. 



Silver-Grcy cocks a.s usna,\ did not muster very strong. The 

 first cock was good in comb, colour, size, and feet, but he had 

 one bad fault — his right spur was outside. The second cock was 

 rather grizzly on the thighs. 



Silver-G-rcij hens were a good class. The first large and per- 

 fect; she occupied the same place last year. The third hen was 

 not very clear on the wing, but was good in size. 



In cockerels Mr. Cresswell brought out an immense young 

 bird, which easily took the cup. Two second prizes were given, 

 and both to good birds. The third-prize cockerel was particu- 

 larly good iu comb, but was not equal to Mr. Cresswell's highly 

 commended pen, the Oxford cup bird. Pen 147 (Paslej), small 

 but perfect. Pen 155 looked old for a cockerel. 



The first Silver jiullet was well placed, large, silvery, and with 

 a particularly good robin breast. The second-prize was a mistake, 

 as her spur showed badly on the outside ; however, she was 

 bought at the auction by some lucky individual. The third was 

 a much better bird. 



In the Cuckoo Dorkings the awards did not generally please. 

 Pen 18G (Toung), were good. Pen 187 (Allen) should have been 

 second. Pen 183 (Garaon), was the Oxford cup pen, but here 

 unnoticed; they were thought by many to be the best pen in the 

 class. Pen 190 (Howard), contained a very perfect cock, but not 

 quite large enough ; he had the best comb in the class. Pen 193 

 (Darby), were large and bright in colour. On the whole, this 

 class was an improvement on last year. 



White Dorkings still run too yellow in colour. The first were 

 neat, but not large enough. Second, a very good pen in comb, 

 shape, and colour. Third was a grand old cock. Peu 196 

 (Williams), should have been noticed. Pen 197 (Hayne), large 

 but yellow. Peu 205 (Countess of Dartmouth), very cheap at 30s. 



The five-guinea Selling class did not contain many bargains 

 if we except the first-prize pen, which contained a good cock. 



Cochins. — The display of Cochins was something remarkable. 

 Most certainly there has never beem such a collection at the 

 Palace before, aud we really should almost think it was the best 

 lot ever got together anywhere. Bufis, Blacks, Partridges, and 

 Whites were all good. We cannot help saying we should have 

 placed two or three of the prize cards on difierent pens, 

 especially iu the Whites and Partridges ; but on the whole we 

 thought the Cochin judging very good indeed. 



Old Buff cocks came first. We suppose Mr. Burnell's old 

 cock is the best old Cochin cock alive. We know he refused 

 iiGO for this bird on Tuesday. Certainly his colour is a little too 

 deep to please us, but he is a wonder, and was well shown. The 

 second was a fine old bird, but we thought him a little mottled. 

 The third was also very good, but wanted leg-feather. 230 

 (Tindal), was a fine bird except in comb, but he has come out 

 of his moult rather mealy on the wing. 232 (Taylor) was not 

 particularly well shown, which put him out of it, or else he is a 

 bird with much quality. 



Buff hens were a nice lot. The first won in a canter, she is 

 very large, and well fluffed ; the second was of very admirable 

 shape ; the third an immense hen, but a little mottled, still she 

 well deserved her place. Pen 240 (Bloodworth) had splendid 

 feet. 241 (Tomlinson) was a pale hen, but she looked a good 

 useful bird. 242 (Lingwood), was very large, but we did not 

 care for her colour. 



Buff cockerels mustered well — no less than thirty-five entries. 

 The cup bird was very grand, his colour perfect, and his comb 

 very good ; he ran iu first. This is the bird we mentioned some 

 time ago as likely to be a "stickler" when he came out. We 

 have heard of him for a long time, and were not disappointed 

 when we saw him on Monday last with the cup card on his pen. 

 The second was a well-grown bird, but he was a little too dark, 

 and he has a great deal of black in his foot-feathering. Third 

 had not a good comb, or he would be a good chicken. The 

 fourth we admired very much, and expected to have seen him 

 higher. 255 (Burnell) was a good colour, but rather small. 264 

 iCartmel) rather mealy on wing, but a good chicken. 279 (Crab- 

 tree) had a bad comb rather, or else his colour was very good. 



Buff pullets weie a glorious class. The first was the lovely 

 bird we noticed at Oxford. She was looking well, and we may 

 safely say we call her the most exquisite Buff pullet we ever 

 saw. Her colour, shape, and symmetry make her a perfect 

 picture. The second was a good bird too, of nice colour, and 

 with most beautiful legs ; third also very good and well shown. 

 Fourth was a splendid pullet in shape, but we thought her 

 colour a shade streaky. 288 (Harrison) a good bird. 289 (Christy) 

 of splendid shape, but a trifle too variegated in colour. 314 

 (Lady Gwydyr) was of lovely colour, but hardly large enough. 

 322 (Crabtree) of splendid shape, and with very good leg-feather. 

 We should have liked to have seen this pullet in the list. 



For old Farlriilge cocks the first won easily, but he is not so 

 good as the cup bird of Mr. Shrimpton's of last year. Tbn 

 second was rather small and a little out of form. The third 

 was narrow, or else he was of good colour. 323 (Taylor) was 

 rather brown iu fluff. 330 (Crabtree) was a very large and good 

 bird, but rather mixed iu colour. 



The Partridge hens were very good, and we thought th< m 

 admirably judged. The first was a grand bird iu size, shape, aud 

 pencilling, and well deserved her place; the second also very 

 good indeed. The third was of good shape and a grand bird, 

 but her tail looked suspiciously on one side at times. 342 (Pope), 

 a very large but badly-marked hen. 



In Partridge cockerels the first was a large good bird and 

 heavily feathered. Second also good; a young friend, we fancy. 

 The third struck us as being narrow. We should have placed 

 here iu preference pens 359 (Shrimpton), or 371 (Fowler). 351 

 (Tudmau) had a nasty comb, but was otherwise good. 36(1 (Leem- 

 ing) a good bird, and superior again to the third. 



Partridge pullets were a lovely class. The winner walked in 

 easily; she is a real beauty. 3H2 (Shrimpton) was a good bird, 

 but wall-eyed on one side. 373 (Taylor) we beard was disquali- 

 fied for being an old bird ; but though we scrutinised her very 

 severely, and though we confess she looked a trifle antique 

 round the eyes, still we could not have said positively she whs 

 an old bird, and we would have given her most assuredly the 

 beneiit of that doubt, which many another pullet (?) iu the 

 Show also enjoyed. The second-prize was very large, but bad 

 iu colour and markings. The third was a very young but good 

 pullet. 394 (Taylor) was an oldish-looking but well-marked bird. 



Wliite Cochins made four good classes, the pullets being an 

 unusually grand lot. The old cocks were not over the moult 

 well ; they all want another month. The first was a very fine 

 well-made bird, and good in colour. The second was also good, 

 but had a bad comb, and a comb which will not improve, we 

 fear, as the season advances. He much reminded us of a cockerel 

 of Mr. Burnell's we saw at Birmingham last year. The third 

 we did not care for; he was an ungainly bird, and coarse-look- 

 ing. 402 (Whitworth) very fine and large, but bad in colour. 



In hens the first took the cup for the best pen in the four 

 White classes. She had the ugliest comb we ever saw on a 

 Cochin — huge, uneven, and coarse; but her shape, fluff, and 

 wings were very grand. The second-prize hen was perfect in 

 comb, but not quite so large, perhaps, as the first, otherwise we 

 should have placed her first most certainly. Third a good hen 

 too, but a little scaly on legs. 406 (Beldon) good, but more leg- 

 feathering wanted. This hen had a very long wattle on one side, 

 and a very short one on the other. Highly commended 415 

 (Holmes), a good hen. 



In cockerels the first was a beauty ; his colour and shape very 

 grand, but he was rather too hocked for our taste ; still he was 

 honestly shown, and will be a wonder as an old bird ; and here 

 we should have gone for the White Cochin cup. The second 

 was coarse, and had inside leg-feather, which we dislike b-i 

 much. Third a good bird, but badly washed. Highly com- 

 mended 418 (Christy), a good bird with sound comb. 



There were nineteen White pullets, and we never saw nine- 

 teen better ones. The first was large, but had a huge comb, 

 much resembling the cup hen's, and was not of very good colour. 

 Second very young and very white, and will make a wonderful 

 hen if aU go well. Third a capital, well-shown bird, the same 

 bird we saw at Long Sutton, we imagine. All the highly com- 

 mended birds were good, and would have won easily iu any 

 ordinary competition. We think this breed has made rapid 

 strides of late years in quality and quantity. 



The Black Cochins came to the front well. We do think this 

 breed is rapidly improving, but we should like to see better legs 

 and better shape; in so many of the specimens there seemed 

 signs of some cross which had not been bred out. The colour is 

 certainly improved since last season. The old cup birds were 

 a showy pen, but the hen was too large for the cock, and both 

 want more leg-feather. The second was a good pen ; but we 

 saw a few red feathers on the neck. The third had a grand old 

 hen, the old friend we have so often noticed; she begins to look 

 old now, but certainly we never saw such feathers and fluff in a 

 Black before. 



Black cofto-eJs, too, were for the most part much improved. 

 The first cockerel was the Oxford cup bird ; he was run up to £7 or 

 X'8 in the auction, and was cheap too. The second had the best 

 head in the class ; ho was not quite so large as the first, but his 

 colour very rich. The third was a large bird, and well made. 

 459 (the American bird) did not look so well as at Oxford. 



In Black pullets the cup bird was of beautiful symmetry, and 

 good in comb, with a beautiful lustre ; we thought this the best 

 Black pullet we have yet seen. Second was also good ; she was 

 large, and very fairly symmetrical. The third was a good- 

 coloured very young bird. 485, commended (Aspden), a capital 

 well-grown bird; 477 (Athole), a good colour, but a most shock- 

 ing comb : this was, we think, the third Oxford pullet. 



The £5 5s. Cochin Sale class had some capital pens. The first 

 walked-in eaaUy. They were a good pen ; the cockerel of fine 



