392 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ November 14, 1S72. 



hair Fern. (Lady King). — A Gesnera, near G-. polyantha, DC, and perhaps 

 a form of that species. (B. Maitland). — 1, Dicksonia (Cibotiuml Barometz ; 

 2, Probably Nephrodium patens ; 3, Polypodinm (Goniophlebimn) appendicu- 

 latum ; 4, Asplenium (Athyrinm) umbrosnm. (E. L. M.). — Yes, Tecoma jas- 

 minoides, of which Bignonia jasminoides is a synonym. (Anxious Inquirer). 

 — 1, Not in fruit ; 2 and3, Varieties of Scolopendrinm vulgare ; 4, Polystichum 

 acnleatum. 



POULTRY, BEE, AND PIGEON CHRONICLE. 



A COUPLE OF HOUES WITH THE DABK 

 BEAHMAS AT OXFOBD. 



So much time has elapsed since your insertion of my last 

 communication, that the ink has become hardened on the nib 

 of my " grey goosequill," and, as I resnme again the use of my 

 " poultry pen/' it seems by lack of practice to have well nigh 

 lost any little cunning it may have possessed. But, notwith- 

 standing this and the prolonged pause in my correspondence, 

 I want to tell you a " bit of rny mind" in reference to the first 

 Oxford Show, held on October 30th and 31st. 



Well, on the advent of the former day I left my quiet home in 

 a Somersetshire village, in the " grey dawn of the morning," 

 to proceed to the classic city, to see for myself how far it could 

 hold its own in its first attempt to make a figure in the world of 

 poultry. As far as the weather was concerned it was a miser- 

 able day; the pitiless rain poured down from early morn to 

 noon, and from noon to gloomy night — straight down in mono- 

 tonous and well-nigh mathematical precision from the leaden 

 clouds above ; no break in the steady downfall ; no ray of sun- 

 light to pierce through the murky atmosphere. In vain the 

 weary traveller sought for a more encouraging prospect in the 

 shape of a break in the clouds. No such vision of hope met his 

 anxious gaze — only the same grim, moody, weeping prospect. 

 " Water here, water there, 

 "Water, water, everywhere." 



Ton will admit that a journey even to Oxford, under such cir- 

 cumstances, did not present features of a very lively character, 

 and as I drew near the city of ancient and modern learning and 

 renown, my sympathies were in active exercise with the local 

 promoters of this initiatory Show. I soon wended my way 

 through the wet and dripping streets, and was not long in find- 

 ing the temporary lodgment of my feathered friends. I paid 

 my half-crown entry fee with all the newly-acquired dignity 

 of a virgin exhibitor, and entered the noble building which, for 

 the first time in its history, was resounding with the fierce 

 notes of defiance through the throats of hundreds of valiant 

 cocks ; from the hoarse guttural groan of the huge and unwieldy 

 Cochin, to the shrill and piercing cry of the Game and conceited 

 little Bantam. As I entered I was struck with the evident care 

 and attention which had been devoted by the Committee to make 

 the arrangements as perfect as possible; and here let me say 

 that the Secretary, Mr. King, so far as my experience went, so dis- 

 tinguished himself by his courtesy and manifest desire to oblige 

 and please, that I can only hope he may be spared to fill the 

 same onerous, but often thankless, post for many a long year to 

 come. The building is admirably adapted to the purpose of a 

 poultry show — being very lofty, well lighted, and, judging from 

 the state of the internal atmosphere, efficiently ventilated. 



On entering the hall I was soon in front of the pens which 

 contained my favourite variety; and as I stood before those 

 which, side by side, had won the highest honours, I could not 

 help admiring the magnificent birds to which the first and 

 second prizes had been so justly awarded, though I must con- 

 fess the vexed question of hocks would intrude itself on my con- 

 sideration as I gazed and admired. These noble birds stood out 

 to the front like very monarchs of the poultry yard ; but as I 

 moved on and attentively examined the pens to which the other 

 honours of various degrees had been awarded, I became per- 

 plexed, and found the inquiry revolving in my mind whether or 

 not there was any advantage at these shows in possessing a 

 reputation — so much so, that I involuntarily uttered the wish 

 that the judging could be entirely freed from any possible in- 

 fluence of this kind, by keeping the Judges in utter ignorance of 

 the names of all the exhibitors until after the awards had been 

 made. "Without intending in the slightest degree to cast any 

 reflections on the Judges, for whom I have, as a rule, a high 

 respect, yet they are only composed of the same impressible 

 materials as other ordinary mortals. It is said "the rose by 

 any other name would smell as sweet," yet somehow or other 

 there is a prestige in its name which wields an influence, un- 

 conscious though it may be, and we are always involuntarily 

 predisposed to accord to it a very high commendation on 

 account of its simple nomenclature. As a class I was disap- 

 pointed with the general features of this display of my favourite 

 race, and considered the specimens, as a whole, much below an 

 average, though redeemed by a few respectable birds here and 

 there, and the immeasurable superiority of the first and second- 

 prize pens. The commendations were a matter of wonderment 



to me, and, as a friend remarked, there must surely have been 

 some ." sweet little cherub aloft " who had surreptitiously pur- 

 loined all the cards from below, and mischievously flung them 

 down to distinguish the pens on which they might happen to 

 alight. It was really difficult to conjecture on what grounds 

 such commendations were given to some of the birds that ob- 

 tained this distinction, as compared with others of unquestion- 

 ably higher quality. Of one pen in particular, containing a huge 

 cockerel of an almost sky-blue speckle, with a pullet to match, a 

 facetious friend declared that it had been " commended " for 

 its " unadorned ugliness." I have always thought it a great 

 mistake for the judging to be proceeding during the presence of 

 a crowd of spectators, and I was most forcibly confirmed in this 

 opinion by my observations at Oxford. 



I may add that the Dark Brahmas were scarcely placed to 

 advantage so far as the light was concerned, and the pens were 

 cramped and small for such large birds ; but the care and at- 

 tention that were paid to the exhibited poultry in general, and 

 the special efforts that were made in particular by the Com- 

 mittee and their Secretary, to accommodate and please both the 

 exhibitors and the public who paid for admission, determined 

 my intention to do my best to put in an appearance again in 

 both capacities at the next Oxford Show. — Beabma. 



DEALEES AND SHOWS. 



I always read in the Journal anything from the pen of Mr. 

 L. Wright with pleasure and profit, and I have no doubt his 

 article upon the above subject will have been read more than 

 once by many who are interested in the matter. I have not a 

 word to say in opposition to what Mr. Wright has written, but 

 wish to add thereto. As to the necessity of such additions no 

 doubt opinions will differ. 



I have no desire to exclude a dealer's birds from any exhi- 

 bition, but would rather have their numbers increased, because 

 dealers usually exhibit first-class specimens, which are oft-times 

 purchased from amateur breeders who never exhibit, and were 

 it not for the spirited dealer such birds would never be seen 

 except by the privileged few; they also keep up the price of 

 good birds, as I find that the professional dealer is always will- 

 ing to give a fair price for a good bird. I fully approve of the 

 selling classes as recommended by Mr. Wright, if carried out so 

 as to answer the purpose intended — viz., that anyone shall have 

 the opportunity of purchasing a good bird at a fair price : but 

 in the regulations of one, if not both the shows named there is 

 a clause which neutralises the advantages professedly offered by 

 such classes — i.e., All birds receiving prizes or commendations 

 will be sold by auction, &c. With a clause like that the idea 

 of a selling class at a fixed price is a farce. 



I remember visiting an exhibition where a very tempting 

 prize was offered for the best pen in the selling class, " price 

 not to exceed £2." I saw the first-prize birds in that class were 

 such as I should be glad to secure for £5, but I could not claim 

 them because they were to be sold by auction. I watched the 

 sale of those birds, and the owner bought them in for £10. One 

 gentleman present expressed his surprise, and said he thought 

 it was not fair to other exhibitors that such birds should be 

 entered in a selling class with the view of winning and buying- 

 in. The answer made by the owner was, " Do you think I am 

 such a fool as to let them go 1" I repeat, that if the birds in a 

 selling class, because good enough to win, are to be sold by 

 auction, then restricting the price in the catalogue is p. mere 

 farce. — L. Ween. 



TO ALL NEGLIGENT SECEETAEIES. 



We were glad to see an exhibitor take up the subject of 

 secretaries not sending catalogues until after the show. Only 

 last week we sent for a catalogue to a show at which we were 

 exhibitors ; the birds were judged on the Wednesday, we got 

 them home on Saturday at noon, and the catalogue on Sunday 

 morning. Now, it ought not to have been later than Friday 

 morning. We received one from Oxford the morning after the 

 first day's Show, and if the secretary is too busy on the first 

 day, he ought to give one of the committeemen a list of those 

 that have sent for a catalogue, and forward it as soon as the 

 awards are printed. — A. & B. 



Dubham Pigeon Show. — The entries for this Exhibition close 

 on the 21st. inst. We recommend it to the attention of Pigeon 

 fanciers, for the prizes are liberal — three in each class, and in 

 addition there are four silver cups and eight gold medals. The 

 voting for Judges is a new feature, and we shall be obliged by 

 information as to how it works. 



Dundee Poultet Show. — We like the business-like details of 

 the schedule— the naming the Judges, Messrs. Hewitt and Tee- 

 bay ; the qualified person to attend to the fowls, the liberal three 



