October 4, 1877. 1 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



279 



lent; Cucksey second, Stretch third. The Dan cap bird (Mr. 

 Hedley'e) all he should be sive in colour. The Blue cocks.— 

 First a pood wattled bird, and in build, &c, no Dragoon; second 

 cloudy in colour but a fine Carrier. White or Pied cocks. — 

 First White, too short in face ; Becond White, a capital shape ; 

 third an old friend, Mr. Ord's Mottle. Carrier hens, Black.— 

 Cup (Fulton) a very rag from moult, but grand though a rag. 

 Dan hens better than Blacks. Blue hens.— First a bird of 

 shape, second strong and large. 



Young Black Cocks.— I last week spoke against the cup cock, 

 so I see no reason to reconsider my words. The first Dun was 

 good in colour, narrow in head, and very promising. In Black 

 hens the Judge was all right in giving the cup to Mr. Heritage's 

 bird. The Dan and Blue hens call for no comment. 



Dragoons. — Blue and Silver cocks good, especially the former, 

 but the great praise muBt be reserved to the Red and Yellows. 

 The cup Red (Sargent's) was simply splendid, in deep colour 

 and proper Dragoon formation ; an excellent Yellow came 

 second, and a good one third. The White cocks very few. 

 There was a class for Blue-chequer, and Red- chequers also 

 appeared. These colours are too muoh associated_ with Ant- 

 werps to be very pleasing in Dragoons. I think special Chequer 

 classes a mistake; better to keep to the established colours, 

 admitting, however, Grizzles to a class. The Dragoon hens, 

 Blues. — Second a very charming bird, but as a class very 

 inferior indeed. Silvers.— First really good. Bed and Yellow, 

 however, the queens among the old Dragoons. Cup an excel- 

 lent Yellow in colour and properties. Blue-ohequers better 

 absent. Among the Dragoons of 1877 the Silver-cap bird 

 (Mr. Wood's) much the best. I come now to the Short-faced 

 Tamblers. Almond oocks.— First and cup (Henning)— head, 

 beak, carriage, a gem ; second good carriage ; third old and 

 rich in colour. The old Almond hens not remarkable. Now I 

 come to the birds hidden under the upper tier, and these were 

 unfortunately such birds as require a Btrong light to see their 

 lull beauty, such as Almonds and other delicately-shaped Tum- 

 blers. Among these latter Agates seem now to bear the bell, 

 and very good and pretty birds were shown. The Black 

 Mottles were, as always, few but very choice, and the cup bird 

 charming. As to Balds, where were Mr. Woodhouse's birds ? 

 None shown were quite up to the mark. Barbs next, and the 

 old ones certainly good, both in Blacks, Reds, and Yellows. 

 Mr. Frith's cap Black cock was supreme in excellence, though 

 Mr. Hedley's Red pressed bim dose. Among Barb hens Ful- 

 ton's Yellow (1080) pleased me best. The young Barb cup hen 

 (1092) was alone much distinguished. 



Next Jacobins, which appeared to give the Judges much 

 trouble, and in spite of the moult, and the pens of some were 

 carpeted, were excellent in all classes. We get now in Jacobins 

 " lots of stuff," length of feather ; but there is, yes there is, 

 oh ! fanciers, too great coarseness in the Reds and Yellows. 

 This,-fault needs removal. Bed cocks a very good class. First 

 long in feather but not fully moulted in tail, not quite as dark in 

 thigh as he ought to have been for his high position. The Red 

 Jacks have now become very good in colour. Colour of Yellows 

 as a rule good also. First Yellow oock a little too long-faced 

 and not down-faced, second in miserable moult, third a first-rate 

 bird, though placed third. But if Beds and Yellows good, Blacks 

 much better. I quite agree with Mr. Falton that the Black 

 Jacobin is the Jacobin from contrast of feather. Cup bird a 

 very gem in hood, eye, face, and colour ; a great credit to Mr. 

 Heritage's loft. Third better than second, except that it was 

 short in flights. Red, Yellow, and Black hens good. Then 

 came those most charming Pigeons the Whites, at present 

 shown cock or hen. Of all fancy Pigeons these and the 

 African Owls best deserve the title of "pretty." Mr. Salter's 

 oup bird a very exquisite Jacobin; his Becond good; so also 

 Mr. Baker's third. 



Any other Colours, Cock or Hen.— An interesting class. Here 

 were Mottles from which the Whites are made, and the pearl 

 eyes kept up. First a Mottle, second a Dun, third a Straw- 

 berry. The two latter the result of crosses, but as Jacobins 

 excellent. Fantails, prizes for both English and Scotch birds. 

 I hope one style only would be Bhown everywhere, the com- 

 pound of English and Scotch. The cup English bird all that is 

 wanted, shape and motion without super-motion. Fantails, any 

 other Colour. — The winners as usual being all Blue. Nuns. — A 

 neat nice lot, and as I recorded with pleasure last week, a Red 

 one won a prize. Trumpeters. — Ten pens, and eight of them 

 good. Swallows. — First a Black, second a Red, third a Blue. 

 These are great ornaments to a show. Archangels. — Cup bird 

 alone in great superiority. The champion class of English wis 

 brought of course few, but the beat in the fancy, four birds only, 

 find all noticed. Mr. John Ecroyd, the champion Carrier winner 

 waB champion winner here too. The next classes of English, 

 Blue or Powdered Blue, and Silver or Powdered Silver, brought 

 only one real Powdered Blue and one real Powdered Silver, 

 but as Owls these classes were capital, and more than half were 

 noticed, but semi-powdering is not enough. The other classes 

 of English Owls were, too, very good, and a Silver hen (Salter's) 



took cup No. 45. Foreign Owls much less numerous. A beautiful 

 Blue (Wilde's), took the cup. The other winners were White. 

 Tarbits a show of themselves, pretty Pigeons now seem tho- 

 roughly appreciated ; 119 Tarbits to sixty-five Pouters. Never 

 before so many Tarbits seen together. The cup went to a 

 Black (Mr. Ecroyd). Altogether nearly sixty Turbits received 

 some notice. N.B. — I am glad the Shell-crowned had a class. 



Magpies made-up in goodness what they lacked in numbers. 

 A Black bird won oup No. 48. Runts a little more numerous, 

 and aa one had a cup we may expect to see more next time. 

 The Flying Tamblers, Balds and Beards. — The former the best. 

 Then the Any other colour brought Mottles and whole colours 

 of gre.it beauty. These two classes give humble fanciers a 

 chance. 



A beautif al'class of Short-facsd Frilled varieties followed, such 

 as Satinettes, Turbiteens, &c, and attracted much attention from 

 non-fanciers, and more than half being noticed showed their 

 excellence. Antwerps of the two varieties and the Selling classes 

 brought up the rear, together with a special Flying class. 



Such was this beautiful Pigeon Show of nearly 1200 birds. 

 It was held a little too soon in the season, especially such a 

 season as this, but it was very beautifal nevertheless. The time 

 has now come, I think, for, in London, the Pigeon Shows to be 

 separated from the poultry ; there is not sufficient room for 

 both. Then, again, a very large proportion of Pigeon fanciers 

 reside near London. The Pigeons can now stand by them- 

 selves, and are more pleasing to London visitors than poultry. 

 — Wiltshire Rector. 



OUR DUTY TO OUR FOUR-FOOTED AND 

 FEATHERED NEIGHBOURS.— No. 5. 



CRUELTY TO PIGEONS— THE SHOOTING HATCH. 

 In speaking of the cruelty to Pigeons entailed by a shooting 

 match I will not draw upon fancy in the least degree, bat upon 

 memory. A group of boys in an east of England school — an old- 

 fashioned grammar school, and strange to say held in the south 

 transept of the parish church (transept then walled off, now 

 properly thrown into the church at a recent restoration). These 

 boys were debating one cold winter's morning upon the news of 

 a Pigeon matoh and the desirability of asking for a holiday. 

 The poor master — worn with troubles and ill health, never loth 

 to give a holiday unless he thought the parents would be 

 offended — aft9r a show of resistance to the request soon yielded ; 

 then followed the brief and hearty thanks, then a rush was 

 made to the door, and away the lads run — waving their caps, 

 shouting their joy. Boys must make a noise if happy; the 

 buoyant spirit must break out in cheering, and laughing, and 

 shouting. Is not a nursery with healthy children in it always a 

 noisy place ? By the way, is there any pleasure so great on this 

 old earth as that of a schoolboy's holiday ? Only a day, a brief 

 day, and then back to dssks, and books, and slates ; yet all are 

 forgotten, all disappear as by magic. The arithmetic dunce for- 

 gets even the hated rule of three. To-morrow the school work 

 will begin again ; but that will be to-morrow. To-morrow in a 

 light-hearted boy's mind iB a hundred years henco. To-day is 

 life, and life to be enjoyed. Oh! early days, when the blood is 

 quicksilver. 



" Bliss was it in those days to be alive, 

 And to be yoang was very heaven." 



No competitive examinations then in my day, no priggish lads 

 who were all work and no play. We didn't like work, and we 

 did like play; and oh! we did enjoy a holiday. No city clerk 

 enjoys his bank holiday more ; not so much, poor fellow, I wish 

 he did ; bat Mb happiness is dashed by the thought of the mill 

 and its same dreary round which will begin again to-morrow. 

 It is only the boy forgets the coming morrow. 



But how about the Pigeon match ? We joined the concourse 

 of men and bays who, a thick-packed crowd, were going to the 

 place of meeting, hampers full of Pigeons preceding us. I soon 

 began to feel ashamed. All the rascality of the town were in the 

 crowd. It was a beer-and-tobacco-smelling crowd, even at that 

 early hour. It was a cursing swearing crowd and a betting 

 crowd. No girl or woman was there, whose presence has a 

 wonderfully restraining influence; they absent, bad men grow 

 worse. The ground for the shooting is reached, the trap set up, 

 and I hasten to the baskets— I, a young Pigeon fancier — to see 

 the Pigeons. There they are, crammed into hampers with no 

 room to move; but crowded many deep, so deep that afterwards 

 it was found several at the bottom were dead. There are the 

 poor birds wing over wing, head over head, pecking each other 

 and struggling. Then they are not even the so-called Blue 

 Rocks, not even the Blue Dovehouse Pigeons got from the 

 farmers' dovecotes in fie country, but any mongrel. Here a 

 leather or two on the neck showing a Jacobin cross, there a long 

 beak showing a Dragoon cross. A little man in a fur cap sup- 

 plied the trap. Why is it that a fur oap is a sure indication of a 

 scamp? But so it is. Dickens has represented the blackguard 

 in " Oar Mutual Friend " with that head- covering. When the 

 poor wicked wretch of the story had been nearly drowned and 



