EXHIBITION. 77 



ingly, and marked. This is best done by sewing 

 small stripes of different-coloured silks loosely 

 round their legs, which you can verify by your 

 poultry diary, in which everything of importance 

 should be entered. I recommend the cockerels 

 and pullets to be kept apart until a month before 

 the show, during which time they must receive 

 extra feeding and care. 



Nothing is too good for exhibition birds ; give 

 them daily exercise and an abundance of food. 



Linseed is calculated to give lustre to the 

 plumage, and toast, soaked in ale, sprightliness, 

 courage, and strength. 



High feeding is unquestionably the grand secret 

 of bringing chickens up to the great weights now 

 required in first-prize poultry. 



There should always be a few spare birds in 

 reserve to fill up a pen in case of accidents, and 

 such often beat their selected companions, under 

 high feeding, and eventually take their places at 

 the exhibition. 



Feather and points being equal, weight must 

 be the criterion. It is astonishing what the 

 steelyard discloses ; birds, to all appearance the 



