210 



FANCIERS' JOURNAL AND POULTRY EXCHANGE. 



tion was made necessary by the fact that the Buffalo exhi- 

 bition was in progress in the room next to the hall, and the 

 continuous interruptions which would otherwise have oc- 

 curred, would have greatly interfered with the transaction 

 of business ; as regards the latter, it could in no way inter- 

 fere with the rights or privileges of those who were not in 

 Buffalo, and had no design of attending the Convention at 

 any rate. F. R. W. 



(For Fanciers' Journal.) 



READ YOUR STANDARD. 



It is wonderful how faulty the knowledge of many per- 

 sons is relative to the good, or even the essential points of 

 fowls. A short time ago I visited the pens of a good pig- 

 eon fancier ; after we had finished looking at the pigeons, 

 he remarked to me: "I have some Buff Cochins, I want 

 you to tell me what you think of them." He admitted that 

 he knew but little about fowls, and thereby disarmed criti- 

 cism at once. I could not help feeling sorry for him, for 

 what he showed me for Buff Cochins, had nothing in com- 

 mon with this choice breed of fowls, except color, and even 

 this was very imperfect ; the 'shape was decidedly un-Cochin- 

 like, being more that of a game fowl ; the comb was as good 

 a rose-comb as one commonly finds among Hamburgs, and 

 the wings, particularly the flight feathers, were white. 

 Frankness compelled me to tell the man that he had been 

 terribly cheated. He had a few Light Brahmas, that in 

 essential points, were on an equality with the Buff Cochins 

 mentioned. 



The same afternoon I went to see another flock of pigeons ; 

 the fancier was a new man in the business, with probably a 

 year's experience. He had among his collection some val- 

 uable birds ; hut, strange to say, he valued some mottled 

 Shaker, or, as a friend expressed it, " Scoop-tail "fans, more 

 than his better birds, Carriers, Barbs, and Owls. Now a 

 true fan is, in my estimation, a widely different bird from 

 the Shaker, or " Scoop-tail." 



Two years ago, April 3d, an auction sale of choice poul- 

 try, foreign and home-bred, was held in New York ; as a 

 matter of curiosity, and partly because I had a desire to 



secure some first-rate stock, I attended. Entry Was two 



so-called Grouse Cochin hens ; they were large and hand- 

 some, so far as size and proportions were concerned, but in 

 color, one was black, and the other a dark, dull cinnamon, 

 and both bad combs which could only be called defective, or 

 imperfectly developed pea-combs. These fowls, it may be 

 well to say, were put up for sale by a gentleman whose 

 advertisement used to read " unsurpassable Buff and Cinna- 

 mon Cochins." In fact, I was misled once by this plausi- 

 ble advertisement, and bought three "first-class hens," 

 according to description, but found when they came to hand 

 that their combs were all imperfectly developed pea-eombs ; 

 and I believe if I were to try, I could find a trio of their 

 progeny to day in this section to match up for show, with 

 well-developed pea-combs. I meant to write to the party 

 to ask him to read his standard, but felt that I might possi- 

 bly say more to him than I would probably feel was pru- 

 dent. 



But, to return to the auction. "When I saw the cage of 

 Grouse Cochins above referred to, it became a question at 

 once in my mind, as to whether any one could be so foolish 

 as to buy them for breeders. Imagine my surprise at see- 

 ing a lively competition in bids as soon as the fowls were up 



for sale, and my still greater surprise when a month later I 

 saw the advertisement of the successful bidder, offering 

 " eggs for hatching from first-class Partridge or Grouse 

 Cochin fowls." He bought more of the same kind of stock 

 that day, and probably had others but little better at home. 

 Now it is but charitable to suppose that both buyer and sel- 

 ler in this case, were not careful readers of the standard, 

 otherwise these fowls would not have been offered for sale, 

 or once offered, would not have been purchased, except for 

 the table. 



The standard is one means of diffusing knowledge rela- 

 tive to the essential points of breeds, but by no means the 

 only one. Our poultry exhibitions have done much in this 

 department of the work ; but one of the most useful of all 

 means are the poultry journals of to-day. Indeed I would 

 as soon think of doing without my medical magazine, if I 

 were a doctor, as do without my poultry papers (and I take 

 and read four), and attempt to rear good fowls. There is 

 no doubt that our poultry papers have done more in the 

 past four years than any other, probably than all other 

 sources combined, to awaken an interest in good fowls and 

 disseminate valuable knowledge as to the best methods of 

 breeding them; and it will be admitted, the more knowledge 

 relative to them the better fowls we shall produce. 



A. N. E. 



Lock Haven, Pa. 



CDatalop^, (fSimtto, audi (tortte oi °§m&m 



William E. Stitt, Columbus, "Wis. — 16 pages and 

 cover. Illustrated by 5 engravings of Dark Brahmas, 

 White Cochins, Houdans, Games, and Game Bantams. 16 

 varieties described. It is one of the best catalogues re- 

 ceived. Send for a copy. 



Thomas H. "Walton, Doylestown, Pa. — Card. Brown 

 Leghorns exclusively. 



A. M. Halsted, Rye, N. Y. — 8 pages. Describing and 

 illustrating his specialties for 1874 — Brown Leghorns, Creve- 

 cceurs, and Silkies. 



"Wills & Peter, Blooming Grove Poultry Yards, Bloom- 

 ington, 111. — Illustrated and descriptive catalogue. 12 

 pages. 5 illustrations. 



A. H. Drake, Stoughton, Mass. — Card. Plymouth 

 Rocks a specialty. 



Dr. H. B. Butts, Louisiana, Mo. — Descriptive catalogue 

 of Jersey Cattle, Berkshire Pigs, and Fancy Poultry. 16 

 pages. 7 illustrations. 



S. L. Barker, "Windsor, Conn. — Circular. Black Leg- 

 horns, Light Brahmas, and Black Red Game Bantams. 



J. Y. Bicknell, Westmoreland, Oneida County, N. Y. — 

 Circular. 4 pages. 39 varieties of Fowls and 13 varieties 

 of Fancy Pigeons, Stone Drinking Fountains, Poultry 

 Books, &c. This veteran fancier puts out a very interesting 

 circular, which ought to be in the hands of every fancier. 

 We traded with "Bicknell" many years ago, and found 

 everything as represented all the time. 



J. F. Ferris, Stamford, Conn.— A beautiful 4-page circu- 

 lar. Illustrated with 11 varieties of Fowls and Ducks. 



George 0. Brown, Montvue Poultry Yards, Brookland- 

 ville, Md. — 2-page circular, describing 5 varieties. These 

 yards are very convenient to Southern fanciers. 



