November 24, 1870. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



419 



There are twelve medals for Pouters, and eight medals for 

 Carriers, aa well as money prizes. Money prizes of 20s., 10s„ 

 and 5s. are offered for all the other well-known varieties, and 

 an " Any other " class besides. 



THE BIRMINGHAM CATTLE AND POULTRY 

 SHOW. 



The preparations for the approaching great Exhibition in 

 Biitgley Hall are steadily progressing, with every prospect of a 

 satisfactory result. The entries in all departments are 3130 

 against 2823 in 1869; an increase of more than 300. For the 

 information of poultry fanciers, we have to announce that nu- 

 merous entries of American varieties, including Dominique fowls 

 and crested Turkeys, have been made, and that the birds are 

 on their way to Birmingham from the United States. The root 

 department is expected to be unusually interesting. Besides the 

 midland districts it will include specimens grown in localities so 

 wide apart as Wales, the New Forest, and north of Aberdeen. 

 The collection of potatoes will be very extensive, and in all 

 probability exceedingly fine. The new American sorts will be 

 well represented ; as will also the Bovinia, the merits of which 

 for feeding stock have for some time been attracting increased 

 attention from agriculturists. 



CARE OF BIRDS AT POULTRY SHOWS. 



" Shuopshire Rectob" revives a painful recollection of the 

 Hanley Show of this year's January. I sent, with other stock, 

 a Mandarin drake, and had the misfortune to receive it home 

 dead ; nor can this be wondered at if, as " Shkopshibe Rec- 

 tob" says, " they were just set out in a row, on the floor of a 

 desolate building, in the hampers in which they had travelled,' 

 &e. And although the bird might be in a tiny hamper in 

 which it could barely move, the hamper was large enough for 

 one Mandarin drake to travel in, it being quite 18 inches long 

 and 10 inches wide, yet by no means large enongh for the bird 

 to be exhibited in. 



On referring to my file of correspondence I find the secretary, ' 

 Mr. J. B.Piercy, says, " I regret to have to inform you that your 

 Mandarin drake was found dead in its pen this morning. I i 

 am at a loss to account for it, as the bird had been well fed and 

 eared for." I think Mr. Piercy might have saved himself the 

 trouble of writing the latter part of this paragraph. How could 

 a bird be well eared for when confined for three or four days in a 

 small travelling hamper ? I wish I had known the fact earlier, 

 for I think I should have tried the case in the County Court for 

 compensation. Exhibitors ought to know, before sending valu- 

 able specimens, whether or not pens will be provided ; nor can ' 

 there be any excuse for secretaries and committeemen not pro- I 

 viding them, as the number required is known long before the ! 

 birds arrive. Surely exhibitors have some claim upon secre- 

 taries and committees for considerate and humane treatment 'e 

 their stock. It is enough to deter any one from exhibiting 

 when such facts as these occur. — Chas. Bae.eb, Long Siree?, 

 Atlierstone. 



DEALERS, AMATEURS, AND PROFESSIONAL 

 FANCIERS, AND PRIZE-HOLDERS. 

 In your number of the lOch inst. I see you have a brief noti- 

 fication of the formation of a new society, to be called the 

 Croydon Columbarian Society. If it can be successfully and 

 properly carried out, no doubt it will afford much amusement 

 and instruction, and tend to elevate the theory and practice of 

 breeding Pigeons. The officers appointed for the present, and 

 it may be the last year if a certain rule be carried out to the 

 meaning implied, are gentlemen eminently adapted for the 

 purpose, but who do not seem to know how far the words, 

 " denomination of dealers," extend. The offending rule in 

 my opinion is, that all persons who come under the designa- 

 tion of " the denomination of dealers," are to be excluded as 

 members and even visitors to the Society's Freemason-sort of 

 meetings. I maintain that if this rule be adhered to, it is, 

 strictly speaking, excluding two-thirds of the fanciers in this 

 country, but I daresay the Society is not so ambitious as to re- 

 quire so large a number, still the proportion in the district sup- 

 posed to be worked by the Society remains the same. Amateur 

 fanciers only are allowed to become members ; therefore pro- 

 fessional fanciers are left out in the cold, in company with the 

 despised dealers. I would ask, Where is the line to be drawn 



between amateur fanciers, and dealers and professional fanciers? 

 Take for instanos any fancier who has a number or even a few 

 Pigeons ; does ha not, as a rule, sell his surplus stock or 

 exchange, or by selling realise a profit on a former purchase? 

 A fanoier who wishes to be successful must buy, sell, or ex- 

 change to the best of his advantage, and naturally enough he 

 does not forget the pecuniary sense of the affair, and those 

 coming under " the denomination of dealers " do no more than 

 this. Most of your readers will know that several dealers are 

 often selected as judges at the shows; therefore, the carry- 

 ing out this rule is excluding men of knowledge that would 

 benefit the fancy that the Society aims at improving. I do 

 not suppose I should be wrong in using the words professional 

 fanciers so long as others are styled amateurs ; in any pursuit 

 whenever one term is used the other is always applicable, as a 

 distinction between the two classes. Therefore, a judge or a 

 writer on Pigeons must be a professional fancier, and surely 

 the former of the two, if not the latter, would be allowed to 

 join ; and if I am not mistaken, one, if not more, of the officers 

 of the Croydon Columbarian Society have officiated as judges — 

 oertainly their authority on Pigeons is often quoted. Not 

 wishing to occupy too much of your valuable space on this 

 subject, I must say that this rule is wrongly worded, and if 

 read and adhered to in its true sense of meaning, it will 

 materially affeot the prospects of a Society which might give 

 valuable aid in popularising the breeding and management of 

 Pigeons. 



Now that I am writiog, I hope a few remarks on another 

 subject will not be transgressing too much on your columns, 

 In looking over lists of awards and entries, I rarely see more 

 than one of the names of, say, half a dozen of our greatest 

 owners of prize-winning Pigeons exhibiting in one class, or in 

 any way competing against others. Aa a strategio method 

 of winning prizes it acts successfully to themselves, but does 

 incalculable injury to the exchequer of a Pigeon exhibition. 

 Having a somewhat large correspondence amongst fanoiers, I 

 have frequently found that a kind of timidity seizes upon a 

 wonld-be exhibitor if he imagines or discovers that one of a 

 certain few has entered in the olass in which he intended to 

 fehow. If these positive prize-winners could be persuaded to 

 practise a little self-denial and refrain from showing their 

 birds for, say, at least one seaBbn, then in my opinion new 

 exhibitors would spring up, and hitherto-partly-successful ex- 

 hibitors would combine together, and considerably augment the 

 number of entries at different shows. The temporary retire- 

 ment of these great owners might be turned to advantage, and 

 when again they entered the field they would find more com- 

 petitors to contend against, and any honours then won would 

 be of more value. I would go further and say, that having 

 won as they a-aert some thousands of prizes, it would be a 

 feature of self-sacrifice that would cause the gratitude of other 

 fanciers to name them saints and martyrs of the Pigeon world. 

 — Datid P. Gooding, Colchester. 



THE NORTHERN COUNTIES COLUMBARIAN 

 SOCIETY. 



[From a Correspondent.) 

 The first Exhibition of this promising Society was held at Belle 

 Yne. Manchester, on the 19th inst. The classes were numerous and 

 well represented, making allowance for the fact that members only 

 were eligible to compete. The names of the prize-winners are suffi- 

 cient demonstration of the quality of the sto^k exhibited, but the 

 Trumpeters of Mr. Firth, which he exhibited not for competition, are 

 worthy of a word of praise, though it be simply to say they were 

 wonderfully good. 



The Society is much indebted to Messrs. Peter Eden and "William 



Smith, who awarded the prizes, and to the Messrs. Jennison for their 



general courtesy and good arrangements. Subjoined is the prize list. 



Cabeiees.— Cocks.— 1, J. B. Pinder, Harpurhev. Manchester. 2, H. Smith' 



Skipton. Hem.— I, J. B. Pinder. Young— 1, H. Smith. 



Pouters.— Cocks.— 1, T. H. Ridpeth, Outwood Hall, Cheadle (Yellow). 2, H. 

 Smith (Yellow). Hens.— l.T. H. Ridpf-th (Blue). 2, H. Smith (Yellow). 



Tumblbrs.— Sfiort-faced Mottles, Eilts. and Self-colours.— I, T. H. IUdr>eth 

 (Tellow). Long-faced Mottles, Kites, and Self-colours.— 1, 2, and he, R. Marshall. 

 Lower Broughton. Beards and Balds.— 1 and 2, T. H. Eidpeth. Long-faced 

 Beards and Balds— 1 and 2, Yv~. Havcraft, Lower Broughton (Black .balds). 

 he, T. H. Kidpeth (Blue Balds), c, R. Marshall (Blue Beards). 



Barbs. — 1, 2, and he, Capt. Heaton, Worsley, Manchester (Dun), c, W. 

 Justice, Salford (Yellow). Young.— 1, "W. Justice. 2, A. Mangnall, Lower 

 Broughton. c, A. Mangnall (Dun). 



Jacobins.— Black.— 1, 2, and he, E.E. M. Eovds.Greenriill. Rochdale, c, J.B- 

 Pinder. Any other colour.— I, T. H. Eidpeth (Bed). 2, E. E. M. Eoyds (Red). 

 he, T. H. Eidpeth (Yellow), c, E. E. M. Bovds (Red). Young— 1 and 2, E. E.M. 

 Eoyds (Black and Red), he and c, T. H. Mdpeth (Yellow and Red). 



Tcrbits.— 1 and 2, F. Mangnall, Handforth, Cheshire (Bine and Yellow). 



he, T. H. Ridneth (Red), c, J. B. Pinder (Blue). Young —1, T- H. Ridpeth (Red). 



owls.— Foreign.— 1, Capt. Heaton. 2, he, and c, Major Cryer (Southport). 



