104 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ August 2, 1877. 



POULTBY, BEE, AND PIGEON CHRONICLE. 



LABELS. 



Worse than ever grows this grievance. It surpasses, if it is 

 possible, the catalogue difficulty. The latter, however, we have, 

 as far as we are concerned, simplified by never ordering a cata- 

 logue at all, as it seems to us needless expenditure to put several 

 pence into a society's pocket for no derivable good whatever. The 

 label trouble, however, is less easy to deal so summarily with, 

 for if once fanciers exhibit — labels and their consequent diffi- 

 culties have to follow. Labels fail to arrive at all — not in an 

 isolated instance, as that may always occur with any show by 

 some postal mistake or by tbe secretary's overlooking a name 

 accidentally; but some half-dozen or so at one time fail to arrive. 

 Again, when the birds ought to have been near the end of their 

 destination the labelB sometimes come, when they are quite 

 useless for that Bhow. Now, in such cases what has to be done ? 

 Provided a receipt has been previously forwarded, it is generally 

 safe to send the birds on to the secretary's care ; but these label 

 mistakes seldom occur at exhibitions wbere receipts are for- 

 warded, for those are too well worked ; but when no receipt 

 has been sent, and no labels come to haDd, what should be 

 done ? How can the exhibitor know the entries have ever been 

 received, and that accommodation has been provided for the 

 exhibits ? We know this same difficulty happened the other day 

 to Mr. Darby. He had entered eight pens for Bath, and had 

 Bent the 40s. to pay for the entries. The latter never reached 

 Mr. Goodwin, so he could not send the labels. Mr. Darby, how- 

 ever, had often before received his labels late, and so he imagined 

 this to be another such case, and so he sent on his birds. On 

 their arrival they had never been entered, and he had incurred 

 labour, trouble, and expense for nothing. Now, had all secretaries 

 a general rule that receipts were to be sent for all entries, and 

 this was understood, then the non-ariival of labels should gene- 

 rally mean that the entries had never come to hand or not been 

 accepted. There are, however, some societies which accept 

 entries long after the advertised date of closing — take them, 

 in fact, so near to the date of the show that it is impossible 

 to get the labels sent away in time to reach their destination 

 when they are required. TheEe post entries, however, are not 

 so much in vogue as they were, for we have heard of many lately 

 who had their entries returned for being too late. We are 

 extremely glad of it, for, apart from the label annoyance it fre- 

 quently causes, the system is not fair to those who have entered 

 in the due time. 



Another objectionable practice we have to condemn among the 

 label managers of exhibitions is the plan of writing the address 

 upon them before they are forwarded to the exhibitors. It is 

 odious for several reasons, especially because the postal address 

 and the train address of many people are often quite different. 

 We know, for instance, a village, the post town of which is Bath, 

 and yet the inhabitants have no less than twenty or more Btations 

 which are much more convenient to them than their post town's. 

 Again, some may want to send the birds on to another show, 

 or to some friend who keeps them for them ; or again, some 

 exhibitors may have a town address where their place of 

 business is, while they themselves live out in the country and 

 keep their birds there, so if a label comes disfigured by being 

 addressed, as we have often had them, it is difficult to write the 

 desired address upon them plainly. We have had, too, one single 

 label addressed and stamped with a halfpenny stamp, and then 

 sent us by post without any envelope or wrapper. Can any 

 plan be more stupid ? It is a great chance that it gets lost in 

 transit through the many hands it naturally would have to pass. 

 Another most objectionable sort of label is a one-eyed one, 

 where it is possible to affix by one end only. Plenty of cases are 

 on record to tell how Buch a label has failed entirely in its 

 object. We remember two or three summers ago sending a 

 basket of birds to the Middleton Show ; the label had but one 

 eye, and was consequently fixed but in one place. On one side 

 was the show address, while our own was written on the other 

 side for the return of the basket at the close of the show. The 

 basket got as far as Crewe, when the parcel clerk, looking into 

 the van, saw the basket of birdB and read the 6ide of the label 

 for the home journey. Out of the van he took them, and back 

 went the birds to London. " How quickly they have come back 

 this time," said our poultryman : very quickly, but they had 

 never seen at all the smoky country of Middleton. And bo we 

 could tell of other instances, moBt of which could have been 

 obviated by a properly-made label. Some societies, again, send 

 labels aB large as a cheese plate, others about as Bmall as a 

 crown piece ; very likely neither of them with the county printed 

 at all. Those committees Burely must forget that there are 

 scores of little stations in England which are used by exhibitors 

 where the porters or booking clerks are of such simple education 

 as to be perfectly ignorant of the locality of many towns. It 

 would tire ns to tell of instances where we have heard how 



trains have been missed or birds misforwarded from want of 

 proper knowledge on the part of the railway officials as to the 

 county where the package had to go to. Once we remember we 

 had long hoped for a certain cup at Fakenbam. The label had no 

 county on it, and the parcels clerk had no more idea than the 

 fowls themselves where Fakenham was. The train was moving 

 from the station, he afterwards told us, and he did not know 

 what to do, so in a fit of despair he popped them into the train, 

 labelled " via Reading." He could not have made a worse shot, 

 and it is needless to say the coveted cup did not fall into our 

 hands. 



And so from all these little things we can collect into one idea 

 what a label Bhonld be to be of general Eervice. It should be 

 made of stout liuen of a medium size, with an eyelet hole at 

 each end; it should be printed clearly with the name of the 

 county, and it is of no advantage to Eee, as we frequently do, 

 " To the Poultry Exhibition " printed in gigantic capitals, while 

 the name of the town or village is in modest little letters under- 

 neath. Above all, the labels should be despatched at least four 

 days before the show is to take place, and sooner if possible. 

 They should be printed reverse ways, on the back and front, so 

 that at the close of the show when the packer turns the double 

 label over to send off the birds he may find that the printing 

 always turns over in a way to be at once legible. We have avast 

 number of important shows coming on in the next three months, 

 and we hope they will in their label arrangements set an example 

 to the smaller exhibitions, that complaints of this particular 

 kind may be less constant than they have previously been. We 

 are sure this is not a trouble of all cry and no wool, for we have 

 on our table before us some dozen letters of the past month 

 alluding to the subject in some form. — W. 



BRADFORD, TONG, AND DUDLEY HILL 

 POULTRY SHOW. 



The annual Show was held at Dudley Hill on the 2Sth inst. in 

 the Cricket Grounds. The poultry were shown in the open field, 

 in Turner's pens, and unfortunately the day proved wet. Some 

 of the classes were badly supported with entries, but the quality 

 was good, Game being a fair section, and the awards correctly 

 made. A class was provided for single hens, the first going to 

 a grand Silver Polish, and second to Spanish. HamburgJis, for 

 the few shown, were really good. Game Bantams very good. 

 Piles first and Black Reds second. 



In Pigeons, which mustered better than poultry, there were 

 many well-known winners. The Carriers very good. First a 

 young Black cock, which should have yielded to a grand Black 

 hen from the same loft, but which was taken for a cock by the 

 Judges. Tumblers. — First Black Bald Long-face, second Blue 

 Short-face, the latter capital in head but foul on thigh. In Ant- 

 werps first was a capital Dun, second a better-headed Red, but 

 not 60 good in colour. Owls (English) very good. In the 

 Dragoons the winners were Blues ; but we preferred Pen 3, a 

 grand Yellow hen. 



Babbits (Lops) ten entries, among which were some very 

 good animals. In the Variety class first was a Himalayan, 

 second Silver- Grey, and third a Grey Dutch; but the best 

 Silver in the class was Pen 13 (Burton). 



POULTRY.— Spanish.— 1. J. Thresh. Dorkings.— 1. H. Beldon. Cochin- 

 china.— 1. C. Se.igwiek. 2, W. Mitchell. Game — Black-breasted or other Bed. 

 —1, W. Schofield. 2, H. C. & W. Mason. Duckwinged or other Grey or Blue. — 



1, H. U. & W. Mason. Black, Brassy-icinged, or Pile.—l, H. C. & W. Mason. 2, 

 R.Walker. Ben.-I, H. Beldon. 2, W. frirth. vlic, J. Hodgson. Hambubghs. 

 — Golden-spangled.— 1, H. Beldon. 2, B. Rawnsley. Silver-spangled.— 1, Faw- 

 cett & Anderson. 2, H Beldon. Silver-pencilled.— 1. B. Kawnsley. 2, H. 

 Beldon. Polish.— 1. H. Beldon. 2, J. RawnBley. Brahma Pootba.— 1, H. 

 Beldon. 2, W. Schofield. vhc, H. W. & E. King. Bantams.— Game.— 1 and 2, 

 W. F. Entwisle. Any other variety.— 1. J. F. Urowtber. 2, H. Beldon. Any 

 Breed.— Cock.— 1, H. Beldon. 2, J. Rawnsley. Geese.— 1. H. Beldon. 2. J. 

 Rawnsley. Docks. — Rouen. — 1, J. Newton. 2, J. R. Pollard. Any other 

 variety.— I. J. Newtsn. 2, H. Beldon. 



PIGEONS.— Carriers.— 1, J. Booth. 2, J. Wright. Tursits.— 1, H. Beldon. 

 2 T Holt, vhc. S. Dewhirst. Tdmblebs.— 1. J. Thresh. 2, B. Rawnsley. vhc, 

 W. Lnnd. Jacobins— 1, T. Holt. 2, G. S. Bnrton. Fantails.— 1, H. Beldon. 



2, J. S. Pickard. Cropper or Pouteb.— 1, H. Beldon. Antwerps.— 1, E. Tor- 

 doff. 2, W. F. Entwistle. vhc. A. Brook. Nuns.— 1, H. Beldon. 2, H. & J. 

 Tetley. Owls.— English.— 1 and 2, J. Thresh, vhc, J. Ingham. Any other 

 Variety.— 1, J. Thresh 2. H. Beldon. Dragoons.— 1 and 2, W. Lund. 



RABBITS.— Spanish.— Buck cr Doe.— 1 and vhc, C. Cloach. 2, Found and 

 Chappel. Common-.— Buck or Doe.— I and 2. J. Oddy. Any other Variety.— 1, 

 J. Robertshaw. 2 and 3, J. S. Swithenbank. vhc, G. S. Bnrton. 



Judges. — Messrs. Cannan & Dixon. 



BOSTON POULTRY SHOW. 



This Exhibition, which we are informed was a very good one, 

 was held on the 26th and 27th ulf ., in connection with the Show 

 of the Lincolnshire Agriculturnl Society. The following awards 

 were made by the Judges : — 



POULTRY.— Dorkings.— 1 and 4, .T. Hornsby. 2, J. Walker. 3, B. S m ith. 

 Game.— Bed, or any other Dark colour. — 1, C. Chaloner. 2, W. G. Waters. 

 White Piles, or any otlier Light colour.— 1. C. Chaloner. 2, W. G. Waters. 

 Cochins.— l.R- P. Percival. 2, J.Walker. 3. Dr. E. SneU. Brahmas — 1. J. F. 

 Smith. 2, J. Walker 3, Dr. K. Snell. Spanish.— 1, R- Newbitt. 2. E. Bigga- 

 dike. HAMBrrRQHs.— Spangled— 1, J. Long. Pencilled.— 1, C. W. Gibbs. 2 and 

 3, Dr. E. Snell. Houdanb.— 1 J. E. Pilgrim. 2, Rev. A. B. Skipworth. 8, Mrs. 



