218 



FANCIERS' JOURNAL AND POULTRY EXCHANGE. 



to the first-prize bird, which, although having very ample 

 hood and chain, was very loose and straggling. 



Fantails had only one class, principally whites, and in a 

 class so hard to judge, when a lot of good birds are assem- 

 bled, it is difficult to criticise the awards, and much more so 

 to make them. Trumpeters contained a good lot of birds of 

 the new type, Mr. Pulton talcing first and cup with a grand 

 black ; Mr. Lederer second and third. 



English Owls formed one of the best classes in the show, 

 and contained many birds of surpassing merit; but there 

 appears to be a diversity of opinion among judges and 

 breeders as to the proportions of an English Owl, some 

 saying it should have a gullet and dewlap, others ignoring 

 these properties, and going in for birds without them. It 

 would be well if this question could be settled, so that 

 breeders might know what to work for. However, in the 

 present case, all the prize and commended birds were good 

 specimens, some of the latter only wanting age to qualify 

 them for the superior degree. Foreign Owls, as they get 

 acclimatized and breed with us, appear to loose the specific 

 character of the imported birds, and show a tendency to be- 

 come larger and coarser than we like to see them. The two 

 classes of Turbits made a grand show, Messrs. Dew, Jones, 

 and Gregory in blues and silvers, and Messrs. Ropes, Croft, 

 Salter, and Jones in the class for " any other color," showing 

 splendid birds. 



The class for best collection of four pairs, any variety ex- 

 cept Carriers, Pouters, and Short-faced Tumblers, had 

 twenty entries, many of the pens containing not only beau- 

 tiful, but valuable, birds; but we cannot congratulate the 

 judges on their awards in this class. The cup was given to 

 a pen of White Fantails, in fine feather and condition ; the 

 second prize to a pen of Grizzled Dragons ; and equal thirds 

 to a pen of Mealy Antvverps and a magnificent pen of birds 

 shown by Mr. Fulton, which, in the opinion of the majority 

 of fanciers, should have had the cup. We would suggest 

 some alteration in the conditions of this class in future 

 shows. 



There were three classes for Antwerps, comprising over 

 one hundred and fifty birds. In the special class for homing 

 birds, it was a condition that all birds to which a prize was 

 awarded in the pen could only claim their right to the prize 

 on being returned to the show, after being tossed from the 

 Palace at noon on the second day of the show ; but unfortu- 

 nately the state of the atmosphere was so very unfavorable 

 that the committee, in the exercise of their discretion, did 

 not have the birds thrown. The prizes will therefore be 

 given as awarded to the birds in the pens ; but there is little 

 doubt that, had the weather been suitable, every bird would 

 have found bis way home and back to the Palace. It is 

 only necessary to mention the names of Sutherland, Lub- 

 bock, Tegetmeier, and Sparrow, to prove the truth of our 

 surmise. 



The judges were: For Pouters, Messrs. J. Montgomery 

 and M. Stuart ; for Carriers, Barbs, and flying class of Ant- 

 werps, Mr. Corker; Dragons and Short-faced Antwerps, Mr. 

 Jones Percival ; Jacobins, Fantails, Nuns, Trumpeters, 

 Owls, and variety class, Mr. Harrison Weir ; Turbits, Mag- 

 pies, Hunts, Almonds, other Short-faced Tumblers, Flying 

 Tumblers, Mr. F. Esquilant; and the collection of four 

 pairs, by the last three gentlemen combined. The pigeons 

 were under the care and supervision of Mr. P. H. Jones and 

 a staff of attendants, who performed their duties most satis- 

 factorily. 



The Rabbits were numerous and very good ; they were 

 judged by Messrs. Heath and Pay son. — Field. 



[We omit the list of awards as being too long for our 

 columns at this time, and not of sufficient interest to war- 

 rant crowding out other matter. — Ed.] 



(For Fanciers' Journal.) 



YOU AND YOUR NEIGHBOR. 



Reader, have you ever noticed the disposition on the 

 part of some men to claim that the goods they want to sell 

 you are just a little better than those of any one else in the 

 neighborhood? In some business communities this exists to 

 a greater extent of course than in many others. 



The only phase under which we wish to consider it here, 

 however, is in its bearing on stock interests. If there is one 

 thing which can provoke a stock fancier or breeder more 

 than another, it is for a neighbor to misrepresent his stock ; 

 and yet how often is it done. It seems the special destiny 

 of some men to hunt for points of criticism ; they are never 

 satisfied unless they are showing something to be wrong. 



We once had a neighbor of this kind, and he was the 

 plague of our life. Whenever he got a new trio of birds 

 they were sure to cost twice as much as our own, though he 

 did not pay half as much. Did he buy a new Partridge 

 Cochin cockerel, he was sure to weigh fourteen pounds or 

 over, though when tested by the scales he did not draw ten. 

 When he talked about his fowls, he always spoke of having 

 reared his distinctive breeds longer than any other man in 

 America. No, he did not go quite so far as that, but he did 

 claim to know good fowls better than any one else in the 

 neighborhood ; and when he advertised, — well, did you ever 

 hear of the " only ivhite ear lobe strain in America?" or the 

 "unsurpassable Buff and Cinnamon Cochins?" He had 

 them. That was his style. Catch him keeping second-rate 

 fowls. No indeed, he did not breed that kind. He would talk 

 to you by the hour about the parents of his stock, and show 

 you his book of feathers, to prove that they were from the 

 best in the country ; but somehow he outgeneraled himself. 

 With all the slurs and unjust criticisms that he made on 

 the stock of his neghbors, they still succeeded in a quiet 

 way, and by minding their own business in disposing of 

 theirs more readily than he ; in fact he talked so much that 

 he outdid himself; nevertheless it was more than provoking 

 to hear him speak in his sneering way, and hear him tell 

 the visitor to his yard, that Mr. So and So kept nothing but 

 mongrels, or at best a very inferior strain. 



Now we do not believe that any man gains anything by 

 sharp practice of this kind, though he may impose upon the 

 beginner in the fancy, it won't hold out. The time will 

 come when all will know and understand his way of deal- 

 ing, and take his talk for what it is worth. It is best at all 

 times, and we say this particularly to beginners, to depend 

 on the merits of your stock, and not on your representation 

 of it. Strive to improve your stock, and make it equal to 

 the best, and then invite your buyer to see it and judge of 



its merits for himself. 

 Lock Haven, Pa. 



A. N. R. 



The official list of awards of the Bucks County Poultry 

 Society, at its late show, gives Prof. A. N. Raub first pre- 

 mium on Black-wing Turbits. This was omitted in the 

 published list. He won five first and two second premiums 

 on seven entries. 



POULTRY SHOWS FOR 1874 & 1875. 



Bucks Co. Poultry Association. Doylestown, Pa., Decem- 

 ber 8, 9, 10, and 11. Theo. P. Harvey, Secretary, Doyles- 

 town, Pa. 



Maine Poultry Association. Portland, January 12, 13, 14, 

 and 15. Fred. Fox, Secretary, Portland, Maine. 



