Jimnary 6, 1870. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



17 



classes well judged had the manufactured combs been dis- 

 qualified. 



HAMBDRGns.— The Spanfiled classes were far better than the 

 Pencilled. We fear that the latter, especially the Silvers, are 

 decliuing. It is a pity, for few birds are more beautiful, and 

 none better layers. 



Gold-spajighd cods. — First was a good bird all round; the 

 cup for the best Hamburph cock justly went to him. Second 

 pressed him hard ; third a fairly spangled bird with a defect in 

 the back of his comb. We preferred the very highly commended 

 bird and Mr. Pickles' highly commended one. Hens. — Why 

 Golden-spsngled hens should in so many cases be out of condi- 

 tion while Silvers are blooming is always to us a mystery. First- 

 and-cnp well deserved her position ; her moons are very round 

 and evenly studded, and her condition and style admirable. 

 Second a glossy and well-spangled hen. Third splendid in 

 spangling; her comb and grizzly under feathering we did not 

 like. The class was a good one, and among the highly com- 

 mendeds were many birds worthy of prizes. 



Silver-spanijltid cocks. — First was capital in comb with large 

 spangling ; he carried his tail in too pheasant-like a style. Se- 

 cond a bird with mnch smaller but evenly set moons. Third 

 was a little yellow; in form we thought him the best bird in 

 the class. The rest were not good. Hens. — First a marvel of 

 spangling, which is as round and distinct as we have ever seen. 

 Second a pretty bird, her spangles not large. Third a bird with 

 large moons, but not evenly distributed over her. 



Oold-pencilled cocks. — First a nice bird all round ; his comb 

 not Buffioientiy square in front. Second good in colour, but 

 with a comb apparently doctored. Third not very even in 

 colour. The very highly commended bird is very rich and dark 

 in colour, but rather too square in form. Hens were mostly 

 defective in breast-marking. First evenly barred, especially on 

 the under parts. Second rich in ground colour. Third also 

 good in ground colour, with small fine pencilling, but mossy 

 towards the tail. 



Silver-pencilled cooks made but a sorry muster. First a nice 

 little bird, not particularly good in comb. Second coarse in 

 comb, with sickles nicely laced. Third grizzly in tail, other- 

 wise the best bird in the class. Hens. — First a well-barred 

 bird, clear in hackle. No others were remarkable. 



Black. — This variety is gradually rising in estimation ; twenty 

 cocks and nineteen hens were entered. The average quality 

 was very high, though we saw no strikingly good birds. The 

 first cock is lustrous, with a lovely comb, but not particularly 

 good in carriage. We should ourselves have put out the second 

 for an ugly unnatural comb. Third was a fair bird. Pen C70 

 (Mrs. George) contained a nice cock, his misfortune (?) being 

 that his comb was honestly shown. When will Hamburgh 

 judges take this merit into consideration ? Hens were a fine 

 class, and very difficult to judge. First a bird excellent in 

 style and colour, her comb not straight. Second a pretty bird. 

 Third we thought a mistake ; she has a bad comb and no style. 

 One of the must prominent features of a Hamburgh is the 

 comb, and consequently this should not be overlooked in hens 

 any more than in cocks. 



Game. — With a few exceptions we did not consider the Game 

 classes here up to the usual standard. In the Reds Mr. Mathews 

 won all the first prizes with birds that fully supported the 

 owner's reputation. Mr. Button showed a good Black Red 

 cockerel that was third in the pullet class. We did not like the 

 second-prize hfn; she has some good points, but was short in 

 legs and wanted the style of a Game fowl. Any variety. — In the 

 cocks Mr. Voisin was first with a good Duckwing, closely pressed 

 by Mr. Mathews. Mr. Fitz-Herbert showed a good Pile here 

 unnoticed ; had he been in condition we think he would have 

 found his way to the prize list. In the class for hens all the 

 prizes went to Dnokwings; here again we much admired a Pile 

 shown by Mr. Fitz-Herbert. 



Malays. — These formed two of the best classes of the breed we 

 have seen for many months. There were close on forty pens ; 

 and really next year, Mr. Cambridge, with a little help you 

 may almost venture to make classes for young and old birds as 

 in Cochins and Dorkings, itc. The winner was a finely-grown 

 cockerel, good in shape and style, and with a true Malay head. 

 Second auothorgood cockerel, smart and bright. Third went to 

 a fine old cock, tjut he had evidently been fighting and did not 

 show to advantage. Among the other birds Mr. Hinton and 

 Mr. Payne sent good cockerels, both hard in feather and good 

 in head. A very nice pullet won in the next class ; she was 

 the stamp of bird we admire. Second and third were strongly- 

 made good birds, but one or two of those noticed were 

 closely treading on their heels. There were a number of birds 

 very light in colour. Of course they may be exhibited of any 

 colour in an open class, but our choice is for the Dark birds, 

 they look so much richer and handsomer. We congratulate, 

 however, Malay fanciers on their final appearance in 1875, even 

 if they have been but poorly represented at the earlier shows of 

 the year. 

 Polish.— Gold and Silvera and Blacks were all good, and | 



all represented in the prize list. Both the two section cups 

 came here also. ,The quality was exceedingly good, and ap- 

 parently the three dozen pens entered were the cream of former 

 shows. In cocks Mr. Beldon's old champion looked magnificent. 

 Second went to another Silver almost equal to the cup bird. 

 Third a very nice Golden, rich in colour and good in crest. Mr. 

 Uusworth had a good Black highly commended. The noticed 

 birds were all worthy of praise, and would have won in diflicult 

 competitions at most shows. In hens a Silver again won, a 

 marvel in crest, markings, and shape. Second a good Golden, 

 nice in colour ; and third a superb Black, as good a bird as 

 we ever saw of the colour. Five more birds were very highly 

 commended, and five more highly commended, so this will 

 show there was some quality, and the Judge had some work 

 before him. 



French. — Hondans. — First (Wood) a fine bird with good crest. 

 Second (Vallance) a well-marked, nice-shaped bird. Third (Scott) 

 a good bird, but we think we should have given the preference 

 to pen 901 (Vallance), highly commended. Hens — First (Thomas) 

 a grand bird, with splendid crest. Second (Vallance) a neat, 

 evenly marked bird. Mr. Quibell and Mr. Lake showed pens, 

 highly commended, that we liked very much. Any other 

 variety. — In cocks Mr. Cutlack was first with a grand CrCve, 

 and in hens Mr. Stevens secured the first prize with a bird of 

 1870. Mr. Crabtree's second-prize hen was a splendid bird, and 

 must have run the winners very close. 

 Brahmas will be noticed next week. 



Leghorns. — This breed had four classes and made a nice 

 show. They seem to boast a fair party of admirers, who we 

 think most plucky to get classes for their birds and do their 

 best to establish them as a permanent breed. We think them 

 started now, and they will probably gain, not lose, ground ; but 

 like Silkies and such like they will never, we fear, be able to 

 support classes everywhere, and will have to go into variety 

 classes mostly, save at the large shows and where amateurs 

 guarantee the prize money. The Browns were very good, the 

 ears have improved very much, and the size too increased. 

 Mr. Kitchin sent his old bird tor admirers to see, as he has 

 been the sire of so many of the winners in 1875, not only in Mr. 

 Kitchin's name but in others. Mr. Brown had his imported 

 cocks in the list, and nicely they looked. 



Whites were very good, but so many were shown dirty. It is 

 the greatest disadvantage, for White birds depend so much 

 upon cleanliness. We thought more size was wanted in the 

 cocks especially. Here, too, the earlobes have much improved. 

 Minorcas, — Seventeen pens were entered, of these the ma- 

 jority were Black. Hens were better than the cocks. We 

 conclude their combs are easier to obtain. The winning Blacks 

 was very smart and stylish. Mr. Williams's pens were also 

 capital and nicely shown. The first hen had a huge comb, it 

 looked like a beefsteak almost, and quite hid the rest of her head. 

 Second and third good birds and bright in colour. We hear on 

 all sides wonderful accounts of the laying powers of these birds, 

 and should imagine they will soon be more generally found in 

 other parts of England than the west, where they now mainly 

 seem to exist. 



The Vaeiety Class. — Here was the nsual pot-pourri, but not 

 quite so well mixed as usual. In cocks a pretty Sultan was 

 first ; a nice Cuckoo Cochin which we preferred to the Sultan 

 second ; and a neat Silky third ; the latter good in comb, which 

 is very rarely found in cocks. Hens were a very interesting 

 class, a nice Cuckoo Cochin first, a Sultan second, and a lovely 

 Silky pullet third, of what we call a perfect size, but much 

 larger than Mr. Darby considers his usual type. More Cuckoo 

 Cochins, Cuckoo Bantams, a Sultan, and an Andalusian were 

 highly commended, all good of their breeds ; also.a pretty Indian 

 Jungle pullet with a beautiful breast. 



Bantams. — Game Bantams do not hold their own ; they are 

 both larger, and the Reds less rich in colour than they were some 

 years ago, still as a rule the winners show true gamy style. 

 The cu;.i for the best pair of Game Bantams went to the first 

 pair in the class for Reds; they were Black Reds, the cocks very 

 stylish, not small. Second were Black Reds again, smaller 

 birds, bnt the cock deficient in wing-colouring. Third were 

 Brown Reds. In the class for any other variety Piles were first; 

 Dnckwings of very high carriage second ; Duckwiugs third. 



Black Bantams were a good class of seventeen entries. The 

 cup pair were longer in legs than we like, but the cockerel very 

 good in comb and a pretty bird. The second cockerel was, like 

 many others, devoid of side tail feathers, a great deficiency in 

 our judgment. The cockerel in the third-prize pen had better 

 sickles, but not so natural a comb as the first and second. 



Sebrighis.—Fimt were Silvers, very white in ground colour, 

 evenly and beautifully laced. Second Silvers again, more heavily 

 and less precisely laced. Third well laced and good Golden; 

 we should have put them second. 



White are looking up again, though they do not reach the 

 Black standard; Mr. 'Tearle held his old place with a pretty 

 pair. Second a nice pair but rather large. Third Email bnt far 

 too high in combs. 



