POULTRY EXHIBITIONS 537 



important prizes in the class in which he competes, if by any means 

 he can secure them all. The advertising value of the five first prizes 

 on a variety at a New York show is worth probably twice as much 

 as the advertising value of four of the five first prizes, and many 

 times the advertising value of one prize in a class. One first prize 

 may mean a chance bird ; the winning will attract little attention. 

 The winning of five first prizes on one variety indicates clear supe- 

 riority over competitors and gives a breeder who advertises them 

 sufficiently the cream of the trade in his variety for the year. 



Educational aspects of exhibitions. The educational value of 

 a great poultry show is much greater than that of smaller shows, 

 but the number of those who can actually appreciate the great 

 show is relatively small, and as big shows are now conducted, a 

 visitor's appreciation of the exhibits depends on his personal 

 knowledge of poultry and, to a considerable extent also, upon 

 acquaintance with the exhibitors, with their stock, and with their 

 previous records. The novice in the poultry fancy in a large show 

 has usually been left to his own devices ; though poultry is espe- 

 cially adapted to demonstration, no provision has been made for his 

 entertainment or instruction. The crowds and the show as a com- 

 plete spectacle may interest him, but he is likely to be very much 

 at a loss to know what it is all about, and few persons not able to 

 form an intelligent opinion of their own about the exhibits and the 

 merits of the awards care to stay long at a poultry show where there 

 is no one to guide and instruct them. Thus the actual educational 

 value of the great show is closely limited to its value to experts. To 

 an expert poultryman one large show is worth scores of small shows, 

 giving him in a few days a much more accurate idea of conditions 

 and progress in various directions than could be obtained in weeks 

 of traveling among the breeders and manufacturers or among the 

 small shows. 



That the neglect of novices among poultrymen, and of the public 

 at the large shows, is a fault which should be remedied is generally 

 admitted, but it is hard to change the customs of exhibitions of 

 this character, and the general opinion of those who have given 

 some study to the subject is that the reformation of the large show 

 will come only when various plans for improving poultry exhibitions 

 have been worked out in the smaller shows. For that reason the 



