iv Preface. 



granted you know so much, when you know so little — but it is genuine pleasure to us 

 to state that in no case did we find any reluctance to tell whatever we wanted to know. 

 All concerned have done their very best, for pure love of the gentle craft we have 

 followed together. 



To two gentlemen, however, our obligations have been somewhat special, and 

 therefore demand special acknowledgment. We have to thank Mr. Hewitt, not only 

 for his numerous contributions on various breeds, but for his opinions and criticisms on 

 many of those finer points of judging upon which he is such an authority, and which 

 we have had personal means of knowing have been peculiarly valued by the breeders 

 concerned. And to the artist, Mr. J. W. Ludlow, we must also render special thanks 

 for the manner in which he has co-operated with us ; striving to meet our wishes in 

 every point, and in many cases even deliberately sacrificing mere pictorial " effect " 

 in order to bring out the points of the birds, which he knew to be the object we 

 chiefly desired. 



We would only add, that in our Schedules for Judging we have endeavoured to 

 meet a long-expressed want. The evils of merely empirical scales had been felt for 

 years ; but it required some self-denial on our own part to refrain from giving fresh 

 descriptions and scales which presented in the same manner oitr views of fowls and 

 judging as " standards " for others. We have, however, adopted the more modest plan 

 of following those who actttally do judge the bulk of our shows, noting their awards, 

 and by slow degrees and by laborious analysis, demanding throughout a tedious mathe- 

 matical investigation, reducing them to figures. The mode in which we have presented 

 those figures may of course be questioned ; on this point we can only repeat that we 

 have deliberately chosen that which, after many trials and disappointments, we con- 

 sidered to be the best ; and as we have been the first to attempt such a task, we alone 

 perhaps fully know its difficulties. But that our scales — so far as any scales can — 

 really do represent modern judging ; that they will not lead amateurs astray, as previous 

 scales have done, but offer sound and accurate guides for private study — of this we 

 are assured ; and since we have made such our sole object, with this we are satisfied. 



And with^^this we lay down our pen, and — not sorry perhaps to have finished our 

 work, very thankful at least to have been permitted to finish it — commend it, with 

 whatever faults he may find in it, to the kindly consideration of the reader. We have 

 done our best to please him, to instruct him, to help him — we can say and we could 

 have done no more. 



