November 4, 1876. J 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



409 



but the comb was. not what is now recognised as the true 

 Hoiidan comb as distiuguisheil trotu the Crove. Second-prize 

 bird was worthy of the position he took ; but he had a flue crest, 

 and leRS were very light. 627 a fine bird, but he had too srnall 

 a comb and wattles to suit my ideas of a thoroughly good bird. 

 626 a good bird, but too dark. 620 would have been a flue bird 

 but for his having a squirrel tail, which made him look as if the 

 sickle feathers had been pulled out and stuck in again. 610 a 

 good bird. 617 a large bird, very dark, bad shape, and with an 

 exaggerated leaf comb. 613 good, but too small. 



The pullets were a very fine class, and when one looks at the 

 prize list and sees that out of thirty-four entries nineteen, or 

 more than one-half, were noticed, it is evident the Judges 

 thought so too. The first prize bird (651) did Mr. Wood great 

 credit; she had a very fine crest, was good in colour and shape 

 — quite a model of what a Hondan ought to be. The second (63.5, 

 Mr. Dring) was a very fine bird; in fact, he had four there 

 altogether which were excellent, and I am not sure but I should 

 have preferred the highly commended bird (63i) to that which 

 obtained second. The third was good, and so was 656, fourth 

 prize (Mr. Quibell). Amongst the highly commended birds I 

 like 642 (Mr. Hibbert) quite as well as some of those which ob- 

 tained prizes; but I can quite understand the difiiculties the 

 Judges must have experienced, and I thought to myself how 

 very little I should have cared to have judged such a class. 



The Cri've-Cccurs were remarkable not less for their excel- 

 lence, but also for the manner in which, in racing parlance, the 

 favourites were nowhere, and outsiders came to the front. 

 Messrs. Dring, Cutlack, Crabtree, Wood, and Ewbank were 

 distanced by such new exhibitors as the Rev. .J. G. B. Knight, 

 Mr. Upsher, and Mr. D. Faye, and unquestionably their birds 

 were very fine. The first and second-prize cockerels were grand 

 birds, brilliant in colour, rich glossy black, rather too upright in 

 comb. 676, third prize (Mr. Maiden), was a fine bird, but lack- 

 ing the brilliancy of colour of the first and second. 663 (Mr. 

 Dring) was a good bird — true Cri've-looking bird, and I could 

 quite imagine his owner thinking he could not be beaten before 

 he brought him up. 



Pallets were a splendid lot, the first-and-cup bird in all 

 respects first-rate. The second, a Jersey bird, was very nearly 

 equal to it, and the size was something wonderful. I liked 

 686 (Mr. Dring) very much, a well-shaped fine-coloured bird. 

 Mr. Knight, who showed cockerels so well, was nowhere in 

 pullets, only coming-in for commendation for 685. 686 was 

 curious, a perfect White Grc've, but I should hardly think 

 desirable, certainly not for appearance, aud I question if it 

 would not betray a delicacy of constitution. Altogether the 

 Show was a very wonderful one. What may we not expect at 

 the Crystal Palace, when to young birds are added old birds also ? 

 " May we be there to see." — D., Deal. 



OXFOED POULTRY SHOW. 



The whole Show was a very great success, and reflects the 

 highest credit on the Hon. Secretary Mr. King. We had feared 

 the Alexandra meeting, so nearly clashing with it, would damage 

 the entries here, bat the poultry world has realised that the 

 Oxford Poultry Show is firmly established. When wc think 

 that the Alexandra Palace was on the single-bird system, that 

 its Pigeon schedule was one of the most comprehensive ever 

 issued, that the Palace itself had insinuating powers, we quite 

 come to the conclusion that the Oxford people must have tho- 

 roughly won the coufldence of exhibitors to have the grand dis- 

 play they had last week. The Judges were — for poultry, Messrs. 

 Teebay and Hewitt, the former gentleman taking the Game, 

 Hambarghs, French, Game Bantams, Variety classes, and some 

 of the Sale classes, while the latter judged the remainder; 

 Messrs. P. H. Jones and Esquilant taking the Pigeons together. 

 We thought the jndging in most classes very good, and though 

 in many instances the Alexandra awards were much altered, 

 8tiU we must remember that the birds were here in pairs, and 

 many of the champion single birds of the Palace had here not 

 nearly worthy mates enough to let them occupy the old positions. 

 The feeding was good, and every bird had a sod of grass given 

 it in the morning, and other green food in the afternoon. The 

 pens were Billett's, and were well covered with chaff, and had as 

 well a little grit. Every pen of birds by 12 30 on the Friday 

 was in the railways' hands, except in one instance where a mis- 

 take arose about a duplicate number, but this we believe was 

 speedily set right. 



The sales were numerous, and the new tender plan was found 

 to answer admirably. Among the most important sales we may 

 mention that the cup Houdans realised £10 10s. ; the first-prize 

 White Pouter hen, £13; the cap Silver-spangled Hamburghs, 

 £7; the first-prize Black Bantams, ±20; the winning Gold 

 Pheasants, i'5 5s. ; the third-prize Creves, £6 6s. ; a highly 

 commended Polish cockerel, £6 15s. ; second-prize Carolinas, 

 £i 4s. ; Mr. Copplestone's very highly commended Rouens, 

 £5 5s,; the first-prize Black Cochins, £5 5s., and very many 

 other pens at good prices. We mast mention, too, the great 



excellence of the local specimens ; in many cases they were ad- 

 mirable, and this shows us in a most marked way that the 

 Society is bearing fruit, for the great number of new county 

 names and improvement in their exhibits is well worthy of 

 comment. 



The catalogues, which were ready when the Show opened with 

 the awards in the margin, were nicely prepared. Dorkings 

 were first, and a grand collection they were of sixty-five pens. 

 In the Coloured, as in many ether classes, we found several good 

 birds bat no very perfect pair ; for instance, the cup pallet was 

 a beauty, so was the third, and so was Mr. Walker's; while in 

 cockerels the second, fourth, and highly commended pens of 

 Messrs. Burnell and Hamilton were very good birds. On the 

 whole, however, we thought the judging good, though we con- 

 fess all through the Show we had a fancy for Mr. Barnell'a 

 cockerel in pen 3. Silvers were splendid, and here the champion 

 cup went for Dorkings, and quite deservedly, as it should have 

 done, too, in 1874. This year the cup pen, though very beauti- 

 ful and perfect, was not to our mind quite equal to last year's 

 first-prize pen of Silvers. Second were a nice pen, and about 

 right ; while the third were very young but of great promise. 

 We thought it an admirable class aud well judged. Whites 

 were good, but we liked the second-prize pen best, for here ths 

 cockerel was equal to or better than the wiuner, and the pullet 

 certainly superior. Third were a fair pair ; the cockerel looked 

 smart and fresh. In Cuckoos the winners were good. We note 

 a great improvement in the tails of this breed, but not much 

 extra size. The winners were well placed, the second going to 

 a very nice pen of single-combed birds. 



Spanish were a large class, but the quality disappointing. On 

 the whole the winners seemed well placed. The cockerel in the 

 second-prize pen was immense in face, but coarse. The pullets 

 in 69 (Wilkinson) and 72 (Walker) were very nice and promising 

 birds. 



Buff Cochins were very fine ; the prize pens and the second 

 very highly commended pens were very even. We almost think 

 we should have placed Mrs. Tindal first and second, as Mrs. 

 AUsopp's second-prize pen had a very old and poor pallet — in fact, 

 this lady must have penned her pullets, we should say, wrongly, 

 for her best pallet was with her worst cockerel. The third-prize 

 pen contained a lovely pallet — the same bird, we believe, that 

 we noticed in our Alexandra report of last week with a young 

 but soundly-coloured cockerel. Blacks were few and good. The 

 second prize pen must have closely pressed the winners, as it 

 contained the best cockerel we have yet seen in Blacks for 

 colour, comb, and shape. The third were right. 115 contained 

 the Palace Black pullet, and a poor bird she is for a show speci- 

 men. Whites were a large class, and there were here many in- 

 dividual birds good, but with faulty companions. The winning 

 cockerel was red on his wings, and the second-prize pullet 

 looked as old as the hills, while the third-prize laly was almost 

 stockingless. Taking them as they were, our choice was for Mr. 

 Faulkner's pen in spite of their very heavy bocks. Partridges 

 were grand, and the winners well placed. 



Brahmas were good, and the judging very nearly perfect in 

 the Darks ; for though something could be said, perhaps, against 

 every pen, still they were well selected. Mrs. Baillie-Hamilton's 

 bird has a nasty tumour on his breast, or else as a cockerel he 

 was, perhaps, the best. After the winners we liked Mr. Birche'a 

 pen and the pullet in 144 (Bennett). Lights were capital, but 

 here, too, we saw several grand birds, but no very splendid 

 pairs. Perhaps we liked the fourth-prize pen as well as any, 

 but here the cockerel had a hideous comb. The second were 

 stylish chickens, the same pair as won first at Edenbridge. 

 175 (Saville) had a nice pullet, so had 188 (Petter), while 173 

 (Haines) had a very fair cockerel; but the class was a difficult 

 one to judge on account of the non-matchiug of the birds in 

 their pens— in fact, the whole Show was remarkable for this. 



Game were on the single-bird system, but the quality was dis- 

 appointing though the numbers were good. Black Red cockerels 

 were not a grand lot, and the only bird of any style or promise 

 was the third, which will in time make a good one. Pullets 

 were better ; Mr. Dutton's pens were as good as any, but all the 

 birds seemed backward. In Brown Red cockerels the winner 

 was well to the front. It was a much better class, and the 

 noticed chickens were all birds of good stamp and style. The 

 Brown Red pullets, too, were a pretty lot of birds, and the 

 winners nicely selected; we know the Judge took an immense 

 deal of trouble over them. In the other two classes Dackwinga 

 carried off most of the prizes. We liked the cup bird im- 

 mensely, and thought he merited his place, though we should 

 have placed third over the second-prize pen. In pullets the 

 winner was » good, and the second a fair Duckwing, third going 

 to a pretty Pile. 309 (Forsyth) a nice Duckwing pullet. We 

 thought the local Game entries exceedingly good and the birds 

 well shown — much above the local average. 



Hamburghs were wonderfully good, and the entries numerous. 

 Golden-pencils made a fine cUss. We almost liked the second 

 pen best, the cup cockerel somehow not being quite our fancy, 

 though a fine chicken. Third were fair birds. Mr. Cresswell'a 



