188 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ September 7, 1871. 



standing in its own park, who connts his deer by thousands 

 and his six-year-old Sonth-down wethers by tens of thousands, 

 standing np to their bellies in grass {0, si sic omnia.'), to the 

 tradesman who hires a suburban cottage with a garden, and 

 who gathers his first dish of peas or beans for the Sunday's 

 dinner — from the noble who dines eighteen sumptuously and 

 praises his venison, mutton, and dessert, to the tradesman with 

 his Sunday dinner of veal, bacon, and peas, who declares that 

 such vegetables as he gathers cannot be bought — there is a ten- 

 dency throughout the race to enlarge on the merits of that 

 which belongs to them and that which they have raised, and to 

 eat with a double zest that which they have produced and 

 which belonged to them. 



Poultry should be more generally kept than it is ; it fetches 

 a better price for the table, eggs are much dearer than they used 

 to be, and food for it is cheaper. Another advantage is, fowls' 

 needs are better understood. In former days the roup was 

 the plague of the poultry yard, and its victims were legion. 

 We have often seen a yard in which those only that were not 

 roupy were those that were approaching convalescence. This 

 is now unknown. Little was known of the merits or the natures 

 of the different breeds. Everything concerning them is known 

 now. Rice and refuse of all kinds, including potato-peelings, 

 were thought good enough for poultry, and no wonder it was 

 given up in disgust when the poor " atrophies " were seen with 

 crooked backs, thin legs, large heads and knees, and when the 

 difierent broods were known, not by the different sizes, but by 

 their senile appearance. 



We have endeavoured in this paper to show how the cost of 

 keeping them may be diminished by the proper management 

 of their food ; we will also tell when they will realise the best 

 prices for the table. On the same principle that the grower 

 in forcing fruits aims to bring them to maturity as much 

 before or after the natural season as possible, the poultry- 

 keeper for profit should aim to have good tender chickens ready 

 for the higgler or the market from April Ist to June 14th. 

 When this is accomplished profit will be discovered. 



We will only add one word more. Poultry-keeping is a 

 healthy and engrossing pursuit, but it should only be under- 

 taken by those who can find pleasure in work. 



SHARP PKACTICE— LOST TAILS. 



Quite unexpectedly to myself, I found I was able to run up 

 and spend exactly one hour and a half at the Cheltenham Show, 

 when I was annoyed by a little arrangement which I think 

 ought to be reprobated. I am quite aware it has been done 

 elsewhere ; but when a show aspires to the rank Cheltenham 

 desires, things require notice which in smaller ones would only 

 provoke a contemptuous grin. 



The place itself is peculiar. Cab fares are higher than in 

 almost any town I know ; and even the railway station is not 

 conducted like those of ordinary towns, but passengers are 

 kept off the platform by an iron gate till the trains they are to 

 depart by have amved. I have often wondered at these things, 

 but have had to conclude that the inhabitants of such a "swell" 

 place could not behave as ordinary mortals. The peculiarity 

 about the Show is, however, of another character. In the 

 advertisements, on the bills, and on the catalogues and sche- 

 dules the price of admission was stated to be " Is.," but when 

 I presented myself at t'ne gate I was told I must pay 2s. Gd., 

 the price of the admission to the Agricultural Meeting. I 

 did not grumble at that, but on reaching the entrance to the 

 poultry tent found I had in addition to this to pay the shil- 

 ling advertised. Remonstrating on the inconsistency, I was 

 rather gratuitously told that for the 2s. 6d. I could see the agri- 

 eultural and horticultural shows, with which they had nothing 

 to do. Now, I confess I do not like this way of managing 

 matters. If the poultry show was independent of the agri- 

 cultural, why should visitors be compelled to pay for what they 

 might not wish to see ? A visitor to the horticultural show is 

 not compelled to pay against his will for the poultry show ; why 

 shonld the poultry visitor alone be the snfiterer ? It is not the 

 amount of money I complain of. Many shows chargfe high the 

 first day, and had the admission been 3s. 6d. avowedly I should 

 have gone just the same ; but I do contend that to announce 

 admission in a poultry journal as Is., and then compel a visitor 

 to pay 2s. &d. additional, is not a course which commends itself 

 to common sense or common honesty. I shonld remark that 

 the poultry were in a separate enclosure ; and the Committee 

 must rest under one of two imputations ; if any part of the 

 2s. 6d. goes to their cofiers, then the admission to the poultry 



was so much more than Is. ; if not, they committed the in- 

 credible folly of consenting to be charged 2s. 6d. per head for 

 nothing but the privilege of holding their show in the neigh- 

 bourhood of the other. 



With the Show itself I was pleased. The Spanish and 

 Cochin classes were wonderful for the season, and also the 

 Hamburghs. Brahmas, with a few exceptions, were poor. But 

 I wish to note that I had ocular demonstration of the way in 

 which tails may be lost, as I witnessed the actual process in 

 two cases, and think it worth while recording the fact for the 

 sake of some angry exhibitors who may blame individuals for 

 malicious injury. The pens were the usual wire ones, and in 

 rows, not back to back, but with a space between. In two 

 cases during my hurried visit I saw cocks with their tails 

 through turn round quickly, and ia one case one, and in the 

 other two feathers dropped with the motion. Doubtless at this 

 season the injury is easily done, and fortunately easily repaired, 

 but the occurrence is suggestive, and I venture to press the 

 matter on the particular attention of Messrs. Turner. The 

 evil would be easily remedied by substituting sheet- iron backs 

 for the wire now used ; or, if this cannot be done, the same 

 purpose is easily eiiected in the simple manner always seen at 

 Bristol — by putting the pens back to back, with a strip of calico 

 or canvas of the same height between. Patting them apart and 

 unguarded has other evils, which frequently lead to gross in- 

 justice in judging, but for which the Judges are in no way 

 accountable. For instance, at the Crystal Palace Show the 

 very best Spanish cockerel was unnoticed. The fact caused 

 astonishment to many, but it was not the fault of the Judges ; 

 the simple fact being that the hens happening to be at the 

 back of the row, and owing to the open pens in plain sight, 

 the bird would keep his head that way, and was literally 

 not seen. I have noticed the same thing often, and many 

 a case of apparently unaccountable judging may be thus ex- 

 plained. — L. Weight. 



HANDICAPPING POULTRY EXHIBITORS. 



Could you or any of your numerous readers suggest a plan 

 by which some of the poultry exhibitors could, in racing phrase- 

 ology, be handicapped ? I bieed five or six different kinds of 

 fowls, and have done so for some years, and up to the present 

 time have very often exhibited, but it is very disheartening 

 when I regularly find such names as Taylor, Leech, Brierley, 

 Beldon, Sidgwick, and Lacy (who either breed or buy a pen or 

 two of good birds, and exhibit them at every show, big or little, 

 no matter how small the first prize), sweep all before them. If 

 some method were arranged that previous winners should give 

 so many points, it would give a fresh impetus to such as me, 

 who, in the face of the prospect of sure defeat, must certainly 

 retire from so expensive a fancy with, I think, the ultimate 

 result of the great guns being left to exhibit amongst them- 

 selves, as I feel confident amateurs have but little chance. — 

 F. Hasdicap. 



[It would be difficult to find an Admiral Rous to arrange the 

 handicapping as satisfactorily as the veteran of that name does 

 on the turf. — Eds.] 



PIGEON TRIMMING AT ALLERTON SHOW. 



I a:5i quite at a loss to comprehend how Mr. Hutton, being 

 considered a judge of Pigeons, should vary so continually as to 

 the quality and perfection of the same pen of Pigeons when 

 he sees them at two diiierent shows. This identical pen of 

 Nuns were considered quite good enough to obtain the first 

 prize at one show where Mr. Hutton ofiiciated, yet at another 

 exhibition, though sent in exactly the same condition, they are 

 pronounced by Mr. Hutton himself as " trimmed most artisti- 

 cally and in an unmistakeable manner," consequently the same 

 arbitrator at once disqualifies them. So far from " equivocally "■ 

 denying the charge of " trimming," I deny it in toto and most 

 unreservedly, whilst certainly the proof lies with Mr. Hutton, 

 who casts the imputation. 



I must here say no difficulty shall arise on my part as to a 

 thorough ventilation of who is right and who is wrong in this 

 matter, and the birds are ready at any time to be placed before 

 two or more competent judges, to prove not only whether or 

 not they have been "trimmed," but also the truth or other- 

 wise of Mr. Button's statement, that "with the exception of 

 the throats and crests the birds were in perfect feather, show- 

 ing no signs of moult whatever," whereas, I contend, that any- 

 one (save Mr. Hutton himself) is welcome to inspect them for 



