November 18, 1876. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDBNBB. 



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and grand ia shape, and when well through will scarcely be 

 excelled; the second and third were, however, fine birde, and 

 posaessing much quality. Mr. Tudmau'a other pen (315) was a 

 fine cock of good colour and sijuare shape. The Partridge hens 

 were very fine, and many of them wonderfully fluffed and 

 pencilled. The winners were all good, and bo were the highly- 

 commended pens of Messrs. Jones and rercivall. Partridge 

 cockerels were a fine collection. The winner large in body, 

 strong in limb, and good in colour and head, and we thought 

 well to the front. Second a very nice bird, well grown and well 

 shown. Third another good cockerel of rich colour. We liked 

 Mr. Shrimptou's pen 356 very much, for the cockerel, though 

 now rather brown in fluff, promises to make a grand bird and to 

 have a good head. Partridge pullets were exoelleufc ; we were 

 delighted to see such splendid pencilling. The winner was 

 small, but a gem for markings. The second was larger, and not 

 much behind the winner in peucillings. Third a nice bird, also 

 beautifully pencilled. All the noticed birds were good, and we 

 thought this a very good class. 



Whites made a grand display, no less than sixty-three entries 

 being made. There were, however, many empty pens; among 

 them in old cocks we noticed Messrs. Darby's, Whitworth's, and 

 Woodgate's pens had no tenants. We liked the winner very 

 much ; he is very fine in colour, but then the whole class was 

 remarkable for this. The second was low on the legs and rather 

 small, or else of superb colour. The third we liked immensely ; 

 he is grand in shape, legs, and head. Capt. Talbot sent five 

 birds ; of them pen 390 was evidently very ill, but his other four 

 were all good and splendid in colour, but they all want more 

 time to come out well, which they will doubtless do. Whife 

 hens were superb, and we thought the winners well placed. 

 The first was a picture in every way, and of exquisite colour. 

 Second not so good in colour or comb, bat large and well-shaped. 

 Third very good, but closely pressed by one or two of the highly- 

 commended pens. Every pen noticed was good, and we longed 

 for prize cards to put on Messrs. Proctor, Whitworth, and 

 Tindal's pens. White cockerels were not a very grand lot save 

 the winners. Out of the dozen pens entered one third never 

 came to the post, for the pens of Messrs. Shrimpton, Woodgate, 

 and Talbot (2) were empty. We should say the second prize 

 bird closely pressed on the winner, for he is larger and better in 

 head, though as yet not quite so massive. The third was good 

 but badly shown, and Mr. Boissier's pen •126, though large, was 

 much too coarse in every way, and looked dirty and out of con- 

 dition. White pullets were good, and here quite a little scene 

 took place. It appears that grave doubts arose in the minds of 

 some of the Judges as to whether Mrs. Acton Tindal's bird in 

 pen 437 was a legitimate 1875 chicken or not, for it had its fluff 

 and matured features so largely and strongly developed. 

 Whether it is an 1875 pullet or no we will not pretend to say ; 

 but this we do feel, that the Judge jumped out of the frying-pan 

 into the fire, for though Mrs. Tindal's bird was left out in the 

 cold, the first prize was given to a bird which we venture to 

 think is even older- looking in head, legs, and general appearances. 

 The second pullet is very young, and should not have been in 

 the list, we think, at all. We much preferred Mrs. Tindal's 

 third-prize pullet, or that of Mr. Bloodworth, which was second 

 at the Alexandra meeting, to say nothing of Capt. Talbot's very 

 white and pretty bird. 



Black Cochins were small classes, and only the cockerels really 

 good. The old birds want more time, though Lady Gwydyr's 

 pair were very good all round, and so were the second. In 

 cockerels Mr. Darby walked his two birds in, one of them taking 

 the cup; he is very grand in colour and shape, and beautifully 

 feathered. Third also good but poor in comb. The pullets 

 were an easy lot to judge, and no mistakes could well be made. 

 The winner was rather hocked, but of good colour and shape. 

 Second and third quite young and not yet developed ; all the 

 noticed birds were ditto — in fact, except for the cockerels, we 

 do not think these Black Cochin classes so good as last year on 

 the whole. 



The awards in the Cochin sale classes we did not know; we 

 waited till the bell rang to clear the Palace, but could !?ain no 

 tidings, and had to leave without them. We were sorry for two 

 reasons — for ourselves, because we kuewwe had the Cochin MS. 

 to get in hand on Monday evening, and for the Society because 

 it is often a check to sales when the cards cannot be upon the 

 cheap pens on the first day. We noticed, however, that the 

 cards were put up in a very slow way, and we never left the 

 Palace on the first day so much in a fog as to the awards as we 

 did in 1875, and we are sure in this many agree with us. Of 

 the birds in this £5 class we much liked the Buff cockerel in 

 Mr. Burnell's pen, and the White hen in Capt. Talbot's -199. 

 Taking the Cochins, then, collectively, we think them a wonder- 

 fully fine lot, and showing signs of progressing even now. 



Beahmas. — The show of this breed is an immense and mag- 

 nificent one, upwards of five hundred pens being exhibited, 

 pretty evenly divided between the two varieties. The office of 

 a reporter ia no easy one with such an enormous field before 

 him to be reviewed in a few hours, and it is necessary to set 



before us some definite and intelligible plan of criticism. It la 

 impossible to describe accurately every winning bird when in 

 some claEsea ten prizes are awarded ; we shall attempt for the 

 benefit of those who have not seen the Show firstly to point 

 out the general principle on which the Judges teem^ to have 

 made their decisions, and secondly to trace general improve- 

 ments or deteriorations in the varieties. On the whole we 

 think that we aee a great general advance in the Light variety. 

 The form of most of the winning birds is excellent, and such as 

 was Been but here and there a few yeara ago. The Darka have 

 reached apparently the 7ie plus ultra in beauty of marking, but 

 we fear with some sacrifice of comeliness in the cooks and size 

 in the hens. 



Dark cocks numbered thirty-two. The cup-winner is an 

 immense bird barely through the moult, very glosay, but we 

 do not admire the angle made by his back and tail. Second is a 

 hocked bird with good black breast and fluff. He alao la defi- 

 cient, aa now are so many otherwise good Brahmas, in the 

 beauty of a back gradually rising towards the tail. Third ia not 

 so large a bird, but beautifully striped on the neck-hackle, and 

 with a better cushion than the first and second. Fourth we 

 consider the best bird in the class ; he has hardly got his full 

 growth of neck-hackle yet, but he is perfection in marking, and 

 has a bold densely-black breast. Fifth is not so good in size as 

 the other winners, and rather rusty on the wing, still he is a 

 bird sure of honours at any ordinary show. Hens.— The cup 

 went to a bird very evenly pencilled all over, but we must con- 

 fess that we do nut Like her shape. When we saw her her back 

 certainly drooped towards the tail, but it may have been the 

 fault of her attitude at the time. Second a thoroughly good 

 hen inclined to have hocks, as are now most of the winners, but 

 combining great clearness and beauty of pencilling with good 

 size. Third a smaller bird, and slightly more inclined towards 

 a brownish tinge, but with that lovely breast-penciUmg which 

 Mr. Peake now seems to produce so clearly. Fourth a bird 

 with the markings on her breast of a singularly bright black; a 

 want of shapeliness behind detracts from her beauty. Fifth, 

 again, when looked at full face is a beautiful hen, but a grizzly 

 tinge on her wings and in her fluff must have prevented her 

 being placed higher. Mr. Lewis Wright shows a hen remark- 

 able for size and great regularity of pencilling. Some good 

 judges considered her the best hen in the class, but she is a 

 little browniah. Mr. Dorchester's commended bird struck us 

 as being of excellent Brahma shape. 



Cockerels this year have two classes, the second being for 

 birds with mottled breasts. The natural iuference is, that the 

 first class is for Black-breasted birds, but strangely enough one 

 prize Went to a bird with much white markings on his breast. 

 The cup bird is one of Mr. Lingwood's best type. He is per- 

 fection in leg-feathering, and has a small highly-bred head. He 

 reminded us of the beautiful cup bird of two years ago. Second 

 is not so large a bird, but quite as goad in shape, with very dense 

 pencilling on the neck-hackle. Third is the bird which we think 

 should have been in the next class. He has the fault which we 

 have observed in other birds of Miss Douglas Pennant's, other- 

 wise very good — viz., a want of fulness in breaat. Fourth a 

 small bird, but of very pretty form. His tail is, perhaps, a 

 little too Cochin-like. Fifth long- tailed and rather ungainly, 

 but apparently timid, which prevents a bird doing himstlf 

 justice. Sixth a bird which we should have put higher. He is 

 tall and perhaps a little long in shanks, but remarkable for in- 

 tensely dark under-feathering. The four other prize birds are, 

 generally speaking, in our judgment decidedly inferior to the 

 six foregoing ones. Seventh is spoilt by an ugly comb; eighth 

 is a well-shaped bird but rather yellow, with white in tail 

 and brown in wing ; ninth a fair bird with poor comb ; tenth 

 somewhat narrow, or would have been higher. Mottled-brearted 

 cockerels are, generally speaking, indifferent. This we think a 

 satisfactory sign, showing that there ia some real connection 

 between a black breast, which baa of late been thought almost a 

 sine gild non, and general good pointa. The first and second 

 birda are well ahead. We could not but remark the difference 

 between the poor leg-feathering of Mr. Lingwood'a bird here 

 and that of his magnificently-feathered cocktrels m the preced- 

 ing class. No. 2 runs No. 1 hard. The other three prize birds 

 really do not deserve comment. Pullets.— This class is a very 

 large one (ninety-seven entries). As we remarked last year, size 

 and form in pullet-breeding seem now too much sacrificed to 

 marking, still there are many birds in this class of grand shape, 

 and we were glad to see them come in for their share of prizes. 

 The cup bird reminds us much of the cup bird of last year ; she 

 is exquisitely pencilled, a little light towards the top of the 

 breast, but rather aparaely feathered on the legs. Second a bird 

 which we did not much admire either as to head or markings. 

 Her ground colouring is a little brown, and the black pencil- 

 linga not very defined. She has excellent foot-feathering, and 

 ia slightly hocked. Third is finely shaped, perhaps a little 

 mixy on the wing, with dietinct I reast-pencilling of the rounder 

 form. Fourth is a fine large pullet, well placed, evidently on 

 account of her size, for her markings are a little indistinct. 



