CHAPTER XXI 



EXHIBITIONS AND THE FANCY TRADE 



Conditions in the fancy trade. The trade in fancy poultry 

 and pigeons and in cage birds is on a very different basis from 

 the trade in market products. With the arrangements for col- 

 lecting poultry products and for holding them when that is de- 

 sirable, it seldom happens that market products cannot be sold 

 at any time when the producer wants to dispose of them. The 

 fancy trade is quite closely limited to certain short seasons. In 

 this trade prices depend as much upon the reputation of the seller 

 as upon the quality of his stock. Very high prices are obtained 

 only by those who have made a big reputation by winning at 

 important shows, and have advertised their winnings exten- 

 sively. Buyers of fancy stock prefer to deal directly with 

 producers, and the greater part of the business is mail-order 

 business. It is almost impossible to force the sale of this class 

 of stock except by selling it for the table at market prices. The 

 producer can only advertise and wait for customers, and what is 

 not sold at fancy prices must be sold at market prices. 



Exhibitions. Competitive exhibitions hold a very important 

 place in the development and distribution of improved stocks of 

 animals. In old times such exhibitions were informal gatherings 

 of the persons in a locality who were interested in the improve- 

 ment of a particular breed or variety. Our knowledge of these 

 early gatherings of breeders of domestic birds is very limited 

 and is mostly traditional. From what is known it appears that 

 they were usually held in the evenings at public houses, and 

 that each person taking part carried with him to the place 

 of meeting one or more of his best birds ; that these were 



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