378 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ November 10, 1870. 



POULTRY, BEE. AND PIGEON CHRONICLE. 



AWARDS— TRIMMING. 

 I think Mr. Hewitt replies to my observations rather in a 

 hurry, or at least without my remarks before him ; he has, at 

 all events, altogether mistaken the drift of what I have written ; 

 and as no one knows better than he does that friendly dis- 

 cussion is the way to elicit truth and weed the errors out, I 

 will return, with your permission, to his comments of last 

 week on my remarks in a previous number. 



He speaks only, for instance, of the difficulty of placing in 

 order of merit all the " highly commended" pens; but if he 

 read my remarks again he will see that my chief suggestion 

 was for a distinct award to be given to all pens, and to those 

 only which in an ordinary competition, or by intrinsic merit, 

 deserved a prize. That was the point on which I laid stress, 

 and on which I wished to ask his opinion, and on this he says 

 nothing. The award 1 suggested was " very highly com- 

 mended," but a perusal of the New York schedule has suggested 

 to me that " diploma " would be shorter and better. I admit 

 the force of what Mr. Hewitt urges in the one case, but. he will 

 not deny that while strict order of merit may present difficulties, 

 as I admitted, by giving up that order in the simple commen- 

 dations, bis experienced eye would readily pick out the deserving 

 penB at least ; and my object was not so much to have in striot 

 order the commended pens as by some systematised award, cost- 

 ing nothing, between prizes and commendations, to show by the 

 prize list alone the character of a competition. In this way a 

 number of diplomas in a class would show that the prizes were 

 hardly won against formidable competitors. To attain this 

 object they should not be given to merely good pens, but solely 

 to such as are really worthy of a prize. 



I again commend this matter to consideration, but this time 

 more especially to committees. The cards might read thus : 

 " Honorary Diploma, to certify that in an ordinary competition 

 this pen would be worthy of a prize." They ought not to be 

 too freely given ; but rightly used, would not only give valu- 

 able information, but would make a show popular, please exhi- 

 bitors, and place shows which cannot aSord four prizes more 

 on a level with the larger ones. 



While I think this matter might be of great use, I am not 

 spending " money " upon it, nor did I " admit," as Mr. Hewitt 

 too hastily says, that I spent " time and money fruitlessly " a 

 year ago upon trimming. I simply said my application to 

 "Birmingham" had been made in vain. That show is never 

 won over to anything all at once, and I do not despair even of 

 Birmingham by-and-by ; but with the general results of my 

 labour I am abundantly satisfied, and the best proof of it is 

 that I am yet, as opportunity offers, spending more. Briefly, 

 I may say that bad cases of plucking are now at least passed 

 by in about half the number of instances, whilst formerly they 

 nearly always won. I may also add that about two-thirds of 

 the schedules now contain a trimming clause, whilst previous 

 to the discussion not one in ten contained such a thing. 

 Bristol was one of the first shows to adopt one, and was copied 

 by London, whilst some few (as Ipswicb) have adopted Mr. 

 Hewitt's own proposal to disqualify all the pens of an offender. 

 Such are the more tangible results, but other fruits are no less 

 real because less visible. There has been a growth in the 

 fancy to some small extent of a " conscience " on the subject. 

 I could name a " reverend " sinner whom the discussion led to 

 abandon the practice, and a well-known Game Bantam breeder, 

 formerly a notorious offender in the very worst form, who 

 showed his birds, I believe, for the first time after the dis- 

 cussion, " without trimming a feather, sir ;" though I am glad 

 to add it was not his last appearance in that character. Better 

 still, the real " fanciers" have begun more and more to find 

 each other out, and to trust each other, while they have learnt 

 to regard the cheats with a deep and pitiful scorn which was 

 hardly known formerly, and whioh, I trust, if it go on, will 

 yet make it apparent that treachery, though it may win, does 

 not pay. The fancy " tailor " may still take his " borrowed 

 rags," and by shameless plucking make them into a first-prize 

 Brahma ; but after long months of work that has been little 

 apparent, and I am free to confess has given me many dis- 

 appointments, I really do believe the time is at hand when he 

 shall find that prizes so won are no real gain, but simply bring 

 him the contempt he deserveB. I never worked at this matter, 

 despite of appearances, with more hope than I do now ; and even 



Mr. Hewitt will, I think, admit that there is seme difference, 

 however small, between the present time and two years ago. 



It is a good opportunity to say that all who hate trimming 

 may do their part entirely independently of committees or judg- 

 ing. Make the sinners feel you despise them ; and as a man who 

 can cheat in one way will do so in another, never deal with a 

 known trimmer. The worst, or one of the worst of them, I 

 know, is also a man who sells eggs which hardly ever hatch. 

 If all who really do hate the fraud would show it, we should 

 soon have the fancy cleared of those who do not really belong 

 to it, and have no real love for it, but are in good truth only its 

 scum. 



Finally, I think Mr. Hewitt has, I am sure not knowingly, 

 done injustice in saying that some of the very first on the 

 list of protestors against trimming proved among the very 

 earliest to be " caught for actually seiving through cocks' combs 

 to keep them upright." Every protestor, as I was quite pre- 

 pared to find, has not proved immaculate ; and it must also be 

 remembered that many exhibitors are in the hands of their 

 men, and know little of their fowls themselves. Still, as a 

 matter of fact, I do not remember any protestor having been 

 guilty of the enormity referred to, and I should be glad if Mr. 

 Hewitt could give the instances. The only name I remember 

 is that of one wlo s ained the wing of his Cochin cock, and in 

 this case it was I mystlf who publicly stated him to be a " pro- 

 testant." " One " is not " some," and as I know at least the 

 main body of the signitaries to have been honest in the matter, 

 I feel I am only defending them in asking Mr. Hewitt to mention 

 the " some " cases he refers to. My belief is he has mixed up 

 in his mind my identification of the sinner in question with 

 some other case ; if it is thus, I feel sure no one will feel greater 

 pleasure than he that it should be so. The object of neither 

 of us is to injure private character, and as what took place 

 between us some time since I am quite willing to confess en- 

 lightened me somewhat as to the difficulties of a judge, so I am 

 sure he understands me too well now to put a false construction 

 on my defence of honourable men. 



He has a passing remark on judging, by the way, which is 

 worth its weight in gold, but which I must leave for a future 

 occasion. — L. Weight. 



INCREASE OF NUMBERS OF PRIZES- 

 JUDGING. 

 Among the many obligations due from all fanciers of poultry 

 to Mr. Hewitt, must be reckoned the fact that he is not un- 

 willing at the proper time to speak out, or to let us know what 

 he thinks upon the various questions that arise in the poultry 

 world. We are, indeed, fortunate to have a judge among us 

 whose unswerving integrity is only equalled by his capacity for 

 his peculiar work, while at the same time he can put his 

 thoughts on paper in a manner calculated to adorn the pages of 

 any journal to which he is disposed to contribute. 



When I read the suggestion that all highly commended pens 

 Bhould be placed in order of merit, I thought that no judge 

 would ever consent to add such a burden to labours which at 

 present are by no moans light, and it is evident that Mr. 

 Hewitt, for one, will not accept the proposal. The gain to the 

 public, in fact, would not in any way compensate for the ad- 

 ditional trouble imposed upon the judges. And yet I am glad 

 the matter has been mooted, because Mr. Hewitt has now told 

 us what he thinks the best rule with regard to the distribution 

 of prizes — that it would be well if possible to have four prizes 

 in every class instead of two only, or at most three. This sug- 

 gestion I regard as of great importance. Let me give an in- 

 stance from my own experience. I had intended to have ex- 

 hibited both as Southampton and at Ipswich. Looking over 

 the schedules of prizes offered, I find that there are two only 

 in the classes in whioh I should exhibit, and although cups are 

 held out to those who reach the very top of the tree, yet the 

 prospect of a cup seems too remote to induce me to send my 

 I ii ids. Had there, however, been third or fourth prizes offered, 

 I should at once decide to exhibit, for even a fourth prize is a 

 higher honour than a highly commended, and, moreover, it 

 helps to pay the expenses. 



And now let me congratulate the Committee of the CryBtal 

 Palace Show on the improvement they have made in their 

 prize list this time compared with the one of January last. It 

 will be long before I shall forget the havoo that was made on 

 the last occasion in the Dorking class among birds whioh had 

 done great things when shown before, but which were then 



