TABLE POULTRY EXHIBITIONS. 151 



exhibitor one month before the day of the show ; the 

 specimens were to be sent killed and plucked, except 

 upon the head and neck, and might be shaped for 

 market, but not drawn or scalded, the breast-bones 

 were not to be broken, nor the head, comb, or feet cut 

 off or scalded ; the judges were instructed to regard 

 quality of flesh and smallness of bone and offal as of 

 primary importance. It was provided that not more 

 thaa one entry could be made in the same class by the 

 same exhibitor, but we think that some modification 

 might be- made of this rule where more than one breed 

 is exhibited in a class. 



A very important development in connection with a 

 show of this kind, as seen at the Smithfield Exhibition, 

 was the prices for which the birds were sold by auction, 

 and there was a considerable amount of interest mani- 

 fested in this, large numbers being purchased at high 

 prices, higher than anything previously known in this 

 country. 



Wherever dead poultry are exhibited, the utmost 

 care should be taken to keep everything about the 

 place as sweet and clean as possible, as it is desirable 

 to lay them out in such a manner as they will be best 

 displayed. Benches are better when built in two 

 tiers with a slight slope, so as to show the birds lying 

 thereon. These benches or tables should be covered 

 with linen cloths, and there ought to be cloths so that 

 the exhibits may be covered, if the show is prolonged 

 more than one day. We do not approve of the plan of 

 taking the winning birds away from the others, because 

 everything should be measured by comparison, and it 

 is desirable by those little things which need scarcely 



