November 23, 1871. ] 



JOURNAL OP HOBTICULTURE AND COTTAGB GABDENEK. 



405 



pnllet or hen." Exhibitors are therefore requested to send 

 one bird only to each pen oi that class, the eame as for the 

 Game hen classes. 



BIRMINGHAM CATTLE AND POULTRY SHOW. 



The entries in all departments for this, the twenty-third 

 annual Exhibition, ate highly satisfactory, showing an increase 

 throughout, and necessitating the erection of an additional 

 gallery, upwards of 200 feet in length, to accommodate the vari- 

 ous exhibits. What will many of our country friends think of 

 the poultry department with its 2660 entries, some individual 

 classes containing more pens than are to be found in the whole 

 of many county and local shows ? 



Amongst other improvements in the arrangements and regu- 

 lations we note the election of life members, who alone are 

 entitled to free admission on Saturday, the day of jadging, 

 when the charge to the general public is 10s. Between 9000 

 and 10,000 tickets of admission have been sold. 



The prize poultry will be, as usual, sold by auction on the 

 Monday of the Show ; and Wednesday and Thursday evenings, 

 after five o'clock, are devoted to the working classes, the charge 

 of admission being reduced to sixpence each. 



BRISTOL POULTRY SHOW. 



YouB correspondent, " E. S. T.," page 347, is evidently one 

 of those who look upon poultry shows merely as places to 

 which they can send their birds with the hope of making a 

 profit. Although I admit that it is pleasant to win prizes 

 enough to pay the expenses connected with showing, and 

 better still if there is a profit, yet this should not be the only 

 consideration. The Bristol Poultry Society was established by 

 a few amateurs from a pure love of poultry, with the hopes of 

 increasing the number of those who keep and rear pure birds, 

 and also to improve the general breed of poultry in the west 

 and south of Eogland. Five shows have now been held, and 

 at most of these the committee have incurred considerable 

 losses. As the committee have not the slightest intention of 

 making a profit out of the exhibition, it seems hard that they 

 should be expected to bear any losses, and they think that they 

 should be supported by those most interested — namely, the 

 exhibitors. 



Acting upon the advice of several friends who take an active 

 interest in the Show, we have this year determined that every- 

 one who wishes to compete for the prizes should subscribe £1 

 to .the funds of the Society, that the entrance fee should be 

 reduced to 6s., and we feel sure that we shall be supported by 

 all true amateurs. Oar place of exhibition is the best in Eng- 

 land, our prize list will compare to advantage with the best of 

 other prize lists, and we endeavour, to the best of our ability, 

 to provide for the well-being and safety of the valuable speci- 

 mens committed to our care. I would add, that should there 

 be any surplus after providing for all expenses, it will be ap- 

 plied to increase the prize list next year. — E. Cajibkidge. 



A FEW nights since I had a leisure hour, and I thought I 

 would avail myself of the opportunity of looking over the 

 schedule of the Bristol Poultry Show. First, I looked over the 

 prizes offered for the different varieties, and pronounced them 

 to be as usual very liberal. I then ticked three or four classes 

 in which I thought it likely I should be able to exhibit. After 

 settling this part of the business I turned to the rulep, but the 

 first dozen words were too much for me ; 20s. subscription, 6s. 

 entrance fee for each pen of poultry exhibited — I was obliged 

 to put on my considering-cap. I thought. What does this 20s. 

 subscription mean ? I could only make of it at last, that the 

 Committee wish to shut out all the small exhibitors by im- 

 posing the 20s. subscription. I am only expressing my own 

 feelings on the subject ; what the feelings of my fellow (small) 

 exhibitors are I know not. Had the Committee adopted the 

 Birmingham system and charged 3s. per pen, I should not 

 have been so much surprised. However, it is not my vocation 

 to dictate to the Committee, so I will be content to be this year 



A NON-EXHIEITOR. 



two pens, without materially affecting those who can enter a 

 large number. 



Of course it rests with the managers of each show to fix any 

 entrance fee they like, only they must bear in mind that if too 

 large it prevents competition ; but whatever they fix let it be a 

 charge per pen, thus making all alike, and not the antiquated 

 mode of beginning by a subscription. Of course I am aware 

 that a large number of tickets are given for the subscription, 

 but these are of no value to the majority of exhibitors. — Chaelbs 



SiDGWIOK. 



WRONG FOWLS RETURNED. 



" Would you be surprised " to hear that some person or 

 persons within a radius of seventy miles of London are good 

 judges of Dorking pullets ? I am not. I will explain. I sent 

 two Silver-Grey Dorking pullets (my very best) and a cockerel, 

 the former in an open cage, the latter in a covered hamper, to 

 the Exhibition of poultry at the Crystal Palace on Novem- 

 ber 13th. With pardonable vanity I looked anxiously for my 

 name among the lists of those highly commended, but as it 

 was not there I concluded that there must have been better 

 birds than mine there. So I was resigned, and looked forward 

 with pleasure to welcome my poor pullets back from their 

 tedious journey and confinement ; but fancy my horror on 

 being told, "If you please, ma'am, they've sent back other birds 

 to yours," and on inspection this proved to be the case. The 

 cockerel in a covered hamper was all right, but my beautiful 

 pullets, my own rearing this spring, and as perfectly marked 

 as, I imagined, birds could be, had been replaced by two large 

 hens, certainly a year old, one double-combed, and as red as 

 possible all over the wings, and white in large patches ; the 

 other single-combed, and very defective as to colour, besides 

 having had her wings clipped in places where white must have 

 existed. When or where this transfer was made is impossible 

 for me to discover, but it is, to say the least, not encouraging 

 to an amateur breeder to lose good birds fit for exhibition, and 

 to get in exchange hens only fit for the table. I may mention 

 I put a fancy price of £20 on them, meaning to keep them for 

 breeding, knowing it would be very diificult to replace them. 

 I shall feel obliged if you could kindly find room for this in 

 your Journal, as I think perhaps some of your correspondents 

 might suggest some safe way of sending birds to shows. I 

 don't suppose I am the only person who has been victimised, 

 but it is a great loss to me, as my stock is very small, and I 

 have no birds to equal those stolen. — G. S. Pasley, Moorhill, 

 Fareham, Hants. 



[You are not solitary in your misfortune. We hear of a 

 similar exchange at the Southampton Show. Where is the 

 exchange effected ? — Ens.] 



I, LIKE many others, as appears by letters already published, 

 am very much surprised at the alteration in the Bristol entry 

 fees : by which, instead of a uniform charge of 7s. 6d. per pen 

 (a sum quite large enough for the premiums offered), the terms 

 now are £1 subscription, and 6s. entrance fee, thus practi- 

 cally excluding all ^small exhibitors who can only raise one or 



CRYSTAL PALACE POULTRY SHOW. 



This Show came to a very successful termination on Friday last 

 The health of the birds during the time was uncommonly good ; there 

 Tvas only one death amongst the whole number in the Palace ; this was 

 a Brown Red Game cock, which arriTed ill, and the Committee did all 

 they could for the bird, but it proved of no avail. A Dark Brahma 

 hen arrived dead in the basket. These two were the only deaths we 

 heard of. 



The judging was on the whole very satisfactory, and there were hut 

 few complaints. The excellent light in which every bird was seen by 

 the Judges no doubt enabled them to give a correct judgment of the 

 birds' merits, although some of the Judges were much pressed for time. 



The sales were unusually large, especially in the Selling class. In 

 this nearly every bird of any merit changed owners. All the prize birds 

 were put up to auction, numbers of them realising more than double 

 their original prices ; in one case a Brahma cockerel sold for more 

 than five times the catalogue price, so keen was tie competition. 

 Many birds sold for very high prices ; Mrs. Arkwright's Dark Brahma 

 pullets were claimed for 30 guineas, Mr. Burgess's Brown Eed cockerel 

 for £20, Mr. Clark's Coloured Dorking pnllet for £10, Mr. F. L. 

 Turner's Dark Brahma cockerel for £10 10s., Miss. Hales' Light 

 Brahma pullets for £12, and Mr. Beldon's Golden-pencilled Hamburgh 

 for £10 10s. The total amount of sales for poultry was £590 lis. ; 

 and for Pigeons, £104 2s., making £691 13s. in all, one of the largest 

 sales ever made at any show. 



We omitted to mention that Miss Frew won the cup for the best pair 

 of Wheaten hens, Mr. Fulton the cup for Blue Carrier hens. Black 

 Carrier cock, and the best collection of four pairs of Pigeons, exclusive 

 of Carriers and Pouters ; Mr. Graham the cup for Red or YeUow 

 Dragoons, and Mr. Dunn for White Dragoons. The Any variety cup 

 went to Mr. Waddington. 



The Show was closed at 4 p.m. on Friday, and the packing of the 

 birds was commenced immediately, and despatched as quickly as possible 



