440 



JOURNAL OF HOETTCTJLTTJKE AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 



[ December I, 1870. 



LA FLECHE. 



37. Of La Fleche cocks there were only fonr entries, and one of these 

 ■was not sent. The third bird was shockingly out of condition, which 

 made winning very easy. 



38. The hens were in better order, bnt the second prize was a mani- 

 fest error, being half-bred with Minorcas. This was evident all over, 

 the birds having Spanish bodies, red faces, and one an actually flapping 

 comb. 



SPANISH. 



39. The first and second pri^e cocks very good, bnt very fall over 

 the eye. Third free from this fault, and wonld probably have been 

 second, bnt he was ont of condition. 



40. First prize cockerel a very good bird with nice comb, bnt not 

 nearly so good as the third, which onght to have been first. Second 

 prize very rongh, and will soon be nearly blind. Fourth and fifth 

 pretty good. Sixth prize a regular pullet's face, very cleanly shaved. 



41. None of the hens in really good condition, but the second de- 

 serves mention as being shown and winning in the natural condition. 



42. Much interest was exhibited in the Spanish pullet class from 

 eight breeders having entered into a sweepstakes of £5 each, in addi- 

 tion to the prize list, which was divided into three prizes of £20, £12, 

 and £8 respectively. The first prize were a splendid pair, but tbe 

 second were, we think, not nearly so good as the third ; and Mr. 

 Barry's pen, 1079, third, putting the second prize as fourth. All the 

 Spanish classes were as a whole inferior, though with some beautiful 

 birds. 



HAMBUEGHS. 



43. Black. — The first Black Hamburgh cock was magnificent, the 

 second very good, but the third had a flabby comb which spoilt him. 



44. The prize hens all good pens, but one in the third prize pen 

 had a very bad comb, and we liked pen 1113 better. 



45. Gold-pesciixed. — The second Gold -pencilled cock was better 

 in tail than the first, bnt worse in comb ; the third better than either 

 but for many foul feathers in the under parts. 



46. Hens were very middling. Third prize in bad health, and on 

 Monday had decided roup. This class seemed losing colour. 



47. Silvxe-pekchxed. — The first prize cock had a large comb, but 

 his tail was beautifully edged. The second prize bird was a beauty. 

 The third and fourth were fairly good. 



48. In hens the first and second were well marked, bnt the third 

 rather poor. 



49. Gold-spangled. — The first prize cock was a magnificent bird ; 

 the rest very good, and on the whole well placed. This was a good 

 class. 



50. Hens also good, and first two prizes very accurately marked on 

 the cushion. 



51. Silver-spangled. — The first prize bird had a bad breast, but 

 by far the most perfect tail we ever remember seeing. The second 

 had a beautiful breast, but otherwise much inferior. Best fair average 

 prize birds. 



52. In the hens many were too dark, and of those which were not, 

 several had moulted considerably. All the prize pens were good, but 

 we thought the third as good as any. 



POLANDS. 



53 — 58. The Polish classes were very much better than usual. The 

 prize Golden pens were particularly fine in marking, and made it very 

 easy to see where the Sebright Bantams came from. 



ANY OTHEE YAEIETT. 



59. In Any other Variety, the third prize was a great error, the 

 Creeper hen having feathered legs and also a Cochin head — in fact, a 

 cross-bred bird. Much interest was awakened by Mr. Simpson's pen 

 of Dominiques, which happened to be next to a pen of Cuskoo Dork- 

 ings. The marking and general appearance are precisely similar, but 

 they had yellow legs, single toes, and rose combs. But for there being 

 two hens this pen ought to have been third. 



GAME. 



60. The Black Eed cocks did not seem a remarkable class, and 

 many birds showed defect in the hock toe. The first prize was a beau- 

 tiful bird in good condition, bub we thought Mr. Challoner's, 1359, 

 ought not to have been far off. Second prize rather darker in colour, 

 and both second and third seemed a little long in the thigh, but we 

 heard little fault found with the judgment. Many of the prize and 

 other birds in the Game classes showed this tendency, which seems to 

 us increasing. 



61. The cup cockerel was really a beauty, and no one could quarrel 

 with his position. The second prize of the same owner was nearly 

 as good. Third prize a very tight, compact bird. The fourth prize 

 looked to us rather more of a " cocker's " bird than some of the 

 others. Fifth prize too long in thigh for our fancy, but hard in 

 feather and body. Sixth prize a particularly good head, sharp and 

 thin. The highly commended bird, 1401, had thighs at least 4 inches 

 long. Several cockerels in this class looked to us too large for Game 

 fowls, and at least one showed a very strong cross with the Malay. The 

 judgment in these two classes we thought very fair on the whole, but 

 to go. perhaps, a little too much by the tti's. 



62. The first Black Eed hen was a fine gamey bird, but we 

 thought her a little too plump. Second prize very neat and trim, and 

 third ditto, but apparently with rather less than her share of hackle. 

 The rest of the class hardly up to the mark. 



63. The pullets were far better. First prize a beauty, just the 

 size, and head, neck, legs, and body, alike good. The second prize a 

 good medium-sized bird, with fine spreading toes. Third prize very 

 good in all but one point, a very sharp angle between the head and the 

 beak, which a Game bird ought not to have. The fourth we did not 

 like much, and the fifth, which was a beautiful gamey bird, ought to 

 have taken her place, if not put third, which might have been better 

 still. Sixth, rather too much flesh to our liking, but for which we 

 think she would have cut the work out for at least two or three of the 

 others to beat her. 



64. The first prize Brown Bed cock was rather large, but both 

 this and the second prize were fine thorough Game fowls, and how- 

 ever they settled it, ought to have had the first two prises. Third prize 

 nearly, if not quite as good as the first. Fourth, a little too big, and 

 we are not sure we should not have changed fourth with fifth, which 

 we liked much. Pen 1527, was also a fine bird, but this class was 

 admitted to be well judged. 



65. The cnp Brown Eed cockerel seemed to us only a fair bird, 

 but was shown in capital feather. The second and third must have 

 been hard to choose with him. Fourth prize rather too dark in colour 

 for a Brown Eed. Fifth and sixth deserved their places. Not a very 

 good general class. 



66. Mr. Brierlev's Brown Bed first prize hen was perfection, bnt we 

 thought the second prize weedy and bad. Third a very nice bird, 

 particularly good in the neck. Fourth prize also a very good hen. 



67. In the pullet class, Mr. Brierley repeated his success with 

 a super-excellent bird, hardly a fault about her. Second prize good, 

 but a little red in the face. The rest of the first prize birds we thought 

 well placed, in a really fine class. 



68 and 69. The Duckwing cocks were a rather small class. 

 We think pen 1620 should have displaced at least the third prize, 

 but otherwise they were admitted to be well judged, as were the 

 cockerels, except the fifth prize bird, who carried his wing3 very high, 

 almost over his back. There were several birds, especially pen 1646, 

 which might have had his place with advantage. 



70. Two prize Duckwing hens were good, but except one of Mr. 

 Frith's, the rest were poor, and the entries were only seven in number. 



71. The pullets were better, and the first was a beauty. "We 

 thought the third about as good, but did cot like the second much, and 

 cannot call it a remarkably good class for Birmingham. 



72. The Black Game cocks and cockerels appeared rather heavy, 

 which has been a fault of late years. The first prize was a long 

 way ahead, but had to be removed elsewhere for the welfare of his 

 next-door neighbour. 



73. In hens or pullets, the first-prize bird was a beauty in every 

 way. Second was of good shape, but as red in the face as a Minorca. 



74. In the "White and Pile cocks, the first two birds were un- 

 usually good, and rightly placed, but we thought either 1705 or 1710 

 better than the third prize. 



75. The first-prize bird in the female department struck us as 

 one of the very best-shaped birds in all the Game classes. Second 

 and third good fair birds, hut the rest of class we thought poor. 



BANTAMS. 



76 — S2. The Sebrights were numerous and good, the Silvers parti- 

 cularly fine. They are again getting white. The White Bantams were 

 mostly too large, but it was a large and good class, the first prize 

 being gems. Black also very good, the fourth prize rather wanting in 

 style. In the " Any variety," the first prize went to a good pair of 

 Pekins, the Eecond to a pen of Japanese, with the most perfectly 

 marked tail ever, perhaps, seen. Black Eed Game Bantams were a 

 grand class. In the first prize pen, the cock and one hen were per- 

 fection, the other not so good. "We were sorry to see that some dis- 

 appointed miscreant had pulled out one of the cock's sickle feathers. 

 Many of the birds in this class carried their wings low. In the Brown 

 Beds, the second-prize pen contained a poor cock, but the hens were 

 much the best in the class. These two classes were, however, very 

 hard to judge, there being so many good pens. 



S3. In the " Any variety" Game Bantam class, the first and second 

 were both good pens, but the thiid prize pen of Piles was a great 

 error, there being another pen of Piles worth fifty of them. In fact, 

 this pen (1S35) of Hr. Easton's was said by many to be the best in 

 the class ; and though the hens did not quite match, the birds were so 

 unusually " gamey," as well to deserve that position. 



84. In the Black-breasted cock class, the first prize was a fair bird, 

 but too much hackle ; second a middling bird, but in magnificent 

 condition. Third, fourth, and fifth a good average, but we thought 

 several pens rather better. In the " Any other variety " (85), the first 

 was a Pile of very good quality ; the third also a Pile, but not so 

 good ; the second a Duckwing rather too dark in colour. 

 DUCKS, GEESE, AND TTJEKEYS. 



Aylesbury Ducks were large and fine, the weight of the four prizes 

 respectively being 18 lbs. 9 ozs., 18 lbs. 10 ozs., 17 lbs. lOozs., and 

 18 lbs. 4 ozs. Bouens were again heavier, weighins 19 lbs. 4 ozs., 

 IS lbs. 6 ozs., IS lbs. 2 ozs., 17 lbs. 11 ozs., 17 lbs. 4 ozs., and 

 17 lbs. 5 ozs. respectively. The first prize pen of the tbe latter breed 

 was magnificent, and it is worth remark that twenty pens were noticed 

 by the Judges. The Blacks were a very nice class and in good con- 

 dition. In the "Any -variety" Duck class the Mandarins and 

 I Carol i pas showed in great force, and the ^rize birds were more perfect 



