202 POULTRY SHOWS AND ASSOCIATIONS 



POULTRY SHOWS AND ASSO- 

 CIATIONS 



BEGINNING OF POULTRY SHOWS 



The first poultry exhibition is thought to have been the 

 one held in the Zoological Gardens of London, Eng- 

 land, in 1846; the first poultry show held in Birmingham, 

 England, was in 1849. The first poultry exhibition held 

 in America is credited to Boston in 1849. The first 

 American poultry show to attract world-wide attention 

 was held in the American Museum, New York City, in 

 February, 1854, under the management of P. T. Barnum. 

 The second show was held a year later at the same 

 place. This show was really the beginning of live 

 interest in the breeding of fowls for exhibition in 

 America. 



From 1860 to 1865 but little interest was taken in poul- 

 try exhibitions in America. From then to the present 

 time they have increased so fast as to surprise the 

 world. During the show season of 1911 and 1912 more 

 than 700 poultry exhibitions were held in the United 

 States and Canada, and more than 200 in England. The 

 number of shows held in the United States and Canada 

 during the years 1917 and 1918 were considerably less 

 than prior to these dates. The same conditions prevailed 

 in England. 



The great shows of England were the Dairy, the 

 Birmingham, and the Crystal Palace shows. These were 

 discontinued to some extent from 1914 to 1919. These 

 shows were formerly held between the fifteenth of 

 October and the first of December. The Crystal Palace 

 show of London, England, was for many years the larg- 

 est and most highly considered of all poultry shows, but 

 within the last few years the New York, Boston, and 

 Chicago shows have ranked very high. The New York 

 and Boston shows have come to be considered Q f equal 

 importance with the Crystal Palace exhibition. 



