Vol. I. 



AND 



POULTRY EXCHANGEX^ AR(E8 



PHILADELPHIA, MAKCH 26, 1874. 



No. 13. 



WHITE LEGHORNS. 



The adjoining cut 

 represents White Leg- 

 horns bred by C. A. 

 Pitkin, Hartford, Ct., 

 who we believe to be 

 the largest and best 

 breeder of White Leg- 

 horns in the country, 

 besides breeding very 

 largely of previously 

 imported Leghorns. 

 He reports making 

 two importations in 

 1873 — one of two trios 

 and one of three trios 

 — a nd states that 

 White Leghorn fowls 

 arethemost profitable 

 of any now bred. He 

 has also five Brown 

 Leghorn hens and one 

 cockerel, which were '3«tff|i/;3 

 bredfrom Brown Leg- ^^Sljsn 

 horns (one cock and 



three hens) imported 

 in 1851 by Capt. Isaac 

 Gates, of Mystic Biv., 

 on bark Asa Fish. The 

 said stock has been 

 bred in that vicinity 

 ever since, and Charles 

 Niles, second mate of 

 the Asa Fish when 

 the importation was 

 made, is now living 

 and will confirm the 

 facts above stated. The 

 stock can be seen at 

 any one time, and they 

 have while ear-lobes. 

 He believes these to 

 be the first Brown 

 Leghorns brought to 

 this country. If any 

 one knows of any ear- 

 lier importation, let 

 us hear from them. 



(For the Fanciers' Journal.) 



THE BUFFALO CONVENTION. 



Me. Editor. 



The Convention recently held at Buffalo under the aus- 

 pices of the American Poultry Association, has been spoken 

 of by a writer in one of our poultry journals, as successful in 

 every respect. To those whose only source of information 

 has been the published reports of its meetings, this may seem 

 a somewhat hasty verdict. In order to arrive at any cor- 

 rect judgment, it is necessary for us to ascertain the pur- 

 pose for which the Convention was convened, and then to 

 see what has been accomplished, and what will be its proba- 

 ble affect upon the poultry interests of America. The call 

 of the Secretary stated that the object of the Convention was 

 the revision of the " American Standard of Excellence." 

 That there was need of a thorough revision of the existing 

 Standard, no one who has made a study of its contents and 

 kept his eyes and his mind open to the light which has 

 been thrown upon the subject since the first edition was is- 

 sued, will for a moment question. But the question natur- 

 ally arises whether any Convention can, by yea and nay 

 votes upon the several propositions submitted, compile or 

 revise a Standard which will be any improvement upon its 

 predecessors. The history of such theoretical Standards 

 does not offer much encouragement. The English Standard 

 was short-lived, and commanded little respect from the 

 best informed English or American fanciers. The first 

 edition of the American work died in its infancy from its 

 own inherent weakness. The second edition still survives, 

 but has been for some time laid away among the old and 

 useless rubbish of the past. The subject seems to bo so gen- 



erally misunderstood, that it is very doubtful if any body of 

 men could so construct a Standard as to make it acceptable, 

 or fair and impartial in its application. We believe the 

 making of a Standard requires more research, more study, 

 and more deliberate thought, than the majority of poultry 

 fanciers have either the time or the ability to give, and 

 unless this information, thoroughly digested, and thought- 

 fully applied, can be brought to bear upon the work, the 

 time spent upon such a Standard will be sadly misapplied, 

 and the work will not be worth the paper upon which it is 

 written. The fate of all former Standards should teach us 

 the worthlessness of all Standards madeupon the false basis 

 of controlling the judges in their arbitrations, rather than 

 upon the sound one of embodying the most accurate and con- 

 sistent judging. This plan, which was advanced by Mr. 

 Wright, and has been so ably set forth and advocated by 

 him, appears much more simple and impartial in its appli- 

 cation. From a convention composed of gentlemen of intel- 

 ligence, refinement, and business tact, we should have ex- 

 pected more individuality than appears to have character- 

 ized its meetings. We should very naturally have expected 

 some presentation of new ideas, and some able and spicy ar- 

 guments in their support, or some thoughtful suggestions 

 drawn from past experience, whose wisdom would have been 

 apparent to every mind. But instead of this, which we had so 

 fondly anticipated, we have only a tame acquiescence in the 

 old formulas which have proved of so little use, and grown so 

 rusty and patched that the originals can hardly be recog- 

 nized. We confess ourselves sadly disappointed, that among 

 so many intelligent men no one was found to say a word in 

 advocacy of the ideas which have been so often and so ably 

 set forth by Mr. Wright upon this subject in all its bearings 



