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JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURK AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ Jime 1, 1876. 



■Qpright a judge may be, wo fear there is always someone at 

 nearly every exhibition who thinks he has been cut out of a prize 

 by another being favoured, which must be very annoyins to the 

 judge who has honestly tried to do his duty. Now, we believe 

 many such grievances would be swept away, while on the other 

 hand others might arise ; still we should very much like the 

 system to be tried and fairly tested, and the larger the show 

 that would make the start the more probability is there for real 

 and permanent good to arise. 



We should like to know some of the judges' opinions about 

 this^ system. We cannot but think that they would co-operate 

 in giving the plan an honest trial. We are of opinion that they 

 ■would be benefited as much as the exhibitors, for not only 

 might it lessen some of their diiKculties in judging by knowing 

 the owners of the birds, but it would anyhow remove all that 

 absurd ignorance which some profess to hold about the owner- 

 ship or the identity of well-known specimens. Again, it would 

 put judge and exhibitor on a more equal footing, and enable 

 them both to talk over an award more pleasantly than is now 

 often the case, for it is remarkable how some judges would 

 almost seem to shirk meeting exhibitors face to face after the 

 show is opened to the public, as they trundle home as soon as 

 the awards are made, and are seen no more that day. We 

 confess we think very much more highly of those judges who 

 remain when the exhibitors come in, and talk over their awards 

 with them, and confess themselves wrong when they are wrong, 

 for from mistakes at times no one on earth is free. Honest and 

 upright exhibitors the system could not hurt, but would surely 

 give them a greater confidence in the judge and the exhibition 

 management itself; while those who go in for little dodges and 

 tips, those need not exhibit at openly-judged shows, and so 

 make their absence conspicuous. 



Another gain would surely be in removing all difficulties about 

 committeemen exhibiting, for open judging would place such 

 gentlemen on the same footing with every other exhibitor, and 

 so hush those whispers, which we believe are most grossly 

 exaggerated, of the managers of shows starting the same for 

 their own benefit. 



And then above all surely those who wage such fierce and 

 desperate war against point cups would find their remedy in 

 open judging, for a cup could hardly be offered for competition 

 where catalogues were placed in the judge's hands. For, to 

 take Portsmouth for example and the Brahma point cup there, 

 if a judge was dishonest enough to do it he could very highly 

 commend or highly commend all an exhibitor's pens until he 

 found by a simple addition sum that the cup was obtained. 

 This could be also done with a Pigeon point cup, although it 

 might entail a better knowledge of the first simple rule of 

 arithmetic. The possibility of such a course of action, how- 

 ever, could well be considered a grievance by a disappointed ex- 

 hibitor, who in the time of his wrath will say anything, and 

 ao we think practically the point-cup system could be thus 

 abohshed. Not that we ever could see the evil that it did in 

 the strong way that one or two of our contemporaries do. 



Taking, then, this new plan in every light we think that it 

 would be found to work well. Anyhow it is worthy of a proper 

 trial ; for although it might not entirely quench all those dis- 

 agreeable suspicions which some will entertain of a judge and 

 exhibitor working together, still it must lessen them and to a 

 great degree remove them entirely. We cannot think of agree- 

 ing with a correspondent who writes to us, "Any judge re- 

 fusing to countenance open judging proves himself guilty of 

 dishonesty," for many of those who have so honourably for year 

 after year awarded the prizes at our exhibitions may object to 

 the new system and doubt its usefulness ; but we do not hesitate 

 to think that if open judging is found to remove some difficul- 

 ties from their own paths and from those of their friends that 

 they will soon be won over, and anvhow will wish to see the 

 system given a fair trial. It has proved so far a success with 

 dogs, and has been approved of by their owners ; and dog 

 and poultry exhibitions being so much alike in management 

 we can only think that the plan should work well with poultry 

 shows. As we said, there may be difficulties and troubles con- 

 nected with this new system, for it is not to be supposed that 

 every evil can be remedied at once ; but if it only to some ex- 

 tent checks suspicions, which frequently have no proper origin 

 both exhibitor aud judge should feel for the present at all events 

 more satisfied. We shall cordially congratulate any poultry 

 committee who gives it the first push, and promise that if we 

 hnd, as we anticipate we shall, any advantage gained and any 

 evils crushed, that we will for our parts, with that other friendly 

 contemporary who first put the movement in motion, go on 

 pushing it till we land the open-catalogue system in the haven 

 of success. — W. 



VENTILATING POULTRY HOUSES. 



PnnE air at all times must be admitted into the poultry 

 houses where chickens or adult fowls are confined, by day 

 or at night. This is indispensable to their health, their com- 



fort, and their thrift; precisely as this same precaution is essen- 

 tial to the bodily welfare of human beings in their dwellings, 

 and especially in their sleeping apartments. 



Closely confined buildings where the poultry roost is a most 

 pernicious practice at any season, and particularly where such 

 premises are overcrowded. Small holes or slits near the eavea 

 may be so easily made through which the ascending vicious 

 and obnoxious air can escape, that this arrangement ought 

 never to be omitted in the absence of some more elaborate 

 mode of certain ventilation. 



The roosts should be entirely below the ranges of such open- 

 ings of course, to avoid the draughts of cold air which may be 

 forced inward in severe weather. But these apertures may be 

 secured in winter inside or outside effectually, and still afford 

 ample outlet for the rising offensive effluvia that emanates from 

 the bodies of even the healthiest birds in confinement. 



This question of thorough ventilation in the fowl-honse or 

 pigeon- loft, is a matter of great import; and its constant appro- 

 priate observance tends vastly to keep our feathered pets free 

 from many of the ailments caused (when we least comprehend 

 it), by compelling them to inhale over and over again the 

 foul air generated in completely closed, unaired apartments. — 

 (American Fancier's Journal.) 



POULTRY AND BIRD NEWS AND QUERIES. 



" Clakissa" wishes to know the best method of killing her 

 poultry. There are three modes of killing. Some advocate 

 suffocation, clever men among them. Others cut the throats. 

 A third party breaks the neck. It is said suffocation is the best, 

 as the bird loses no part of its properties ; but when death is 

 caused by this process there is a dark colour which is unpleasant 

 and suggestive. When the throats are cut the flesh is beauti- 

 fully white, but the meat is dry and suggestive of deal sawdust. 

 When the neck is broken, the dislocation being perfect, if the 

 fowl is held by the legs, the head being downwards, all the blood 

 runs to the disjunction of the vertebrfc, none remains in the 

 body, and the juiciness of the flesh is retained. 



Do— KE— in. — There is a controversy as to which songster 

 among the birds begins his carol earliest. Since I read it in one 

 of your contemporaries I have listened every morning. This 

 morning (Monday) I heard the Robin at 2 50 a.m., the Thrash 

 almost at the samo moment. On two occasions I have heard 

 the Blackbird at 2.30 a.m. 



We may remind those intending to exhibit at the coming 

 summer York Cage-Bird Show that the entries are announced 

 to close on Saturday, June 3rd. The Bird Show, which la 

 always a great feature in connection with the Grand Yorkshire 

 Gala, will take place on the l-4th, loth, and 16th of June. 



The declared value of eggs imported in the four months ended 

 the 30th ult. was £929,509 ; last year, ,£997,382. 



Goose Eggs. — I have a Toulouse Goose that has laid fifty-four 

 eggs this season, and on the 22nd of this month commenced to 

 sit upon eleven. Some others I put under hens and have hatched 

 a fair average. Is not this a large and unusual number of eggs 

 for a Goose to lay ?— Swansea. 



A lad at Langley took from a nest here a few days ago five 

 young full-fledged Starlings, three of which were their natural 

 colour, and the other two were a pure white with yellow beaks. 

 Although we have had white Sparrows here before I never 

 before saw a white Starling. — H. Long. 



Dr. Rogers of East Grinstead has a cat and a parrot which 

 have formed a great attachment for each other. For a length 

 of time the cat would not sleep comfortably anywhere except in 

 the cage with the parrot. Eventually Pussy had prior claims 

 on her affection — kittens. One of these she nurses in a cross- 

 handled garden basket, and no place has such an attraction for 

 Polly as the handle of that basket. There she sits for hours 

 demonstrating in ways unspeakable her affection for the cat and 

 especially for the kitten, even making attempts to feed it. Polly 

 has also installed herself guardian of her feline friends, and 

 which she will not permit a stranger to touch. He may scratch 

 Polly unmolestedly, but no amount of coaxing will gain him the 

 privilege to stroke Pussy. All attempts in this direction the 

 bird resents vigorously. It is a pretty sight to see the bird 

 mounting guard over the cat and kitten, and worthy of the 

 pencil of Mr. Harrison Weir. — A Visitor. 



TIVERTON POULTRY SHOW. 



The Devon County Agricultural Meeting was this year held 

 at Tiverton, and a very pleasant little gathering it was. Mr. 

 Fielding of Trentham judged the poultry, and in many classes 

 gave much satisfaction. The Baroness Burdett Coutts's i'10-note, 

 to be awarded in the class for undubbed cockerels, brought out a 

 dozen and a half of entries ; but beyond the winner, which was 

 a smart Brown Red, we did not think the quality very startling. 



