KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



37 



stance when one of these hens began laying 

 again while her chickens were small, and 

 regularly led them to her nest every day, 

 keeping them there while she laid. I believe 

 from this breed, there are more cocks hatched, 

 in proportion to the pullets, than any other. 

 Too much cannot be said in favor of their 

 gentleness and contented disposition. A 

 fence four feet high suffices to keep them from 

 wandering, and they allow themselves to be 

 taken from their perch and replaced, — to be 

 handled, exhibited, or made any use of, 

 without the least opposition. 



THE LATE EIEMINGHAM POULTRY SHOW. 



In our able contemporary, " The Field," we 

 find an article on the late exhibition of Poul- 

 try at Birmingham. Being too ill at the time 

 to attend personally, we give an abstract of 

 the particulars, furnished by a reporter for 

 this well-timed periodical. The " show" 

 deserves chronicling in our pages. 



" That our domestic fowls are no longer 

 the insignificant, neglected, unnoticed little 

 beings that they were a very few years 

 since, is sufficiently proved by the interest 

 excited in the 37,002 persons who visited 

 the 1,223 pens of fowls, pigeons, geese, 

 ducks, turkeys, and guinea-fowls, collected 

 in Bingley Hall for exhibition, on the 14th 

 of December. In 1850, 556 pens were ex- 

 hibited under 21 heads or classes. In 1852, 

 both entries and classes are considerably 

 more than doubled ; improvement in merit 

 has kept pace with this advance in number ; 

 but there is one circumstance even more 

 pleasing to those who take an interest in 

 poultry, than this progress in number and 

 goodness, because it is one which offers a hope 

 of even greater success for the future — we 

 mean the increasing attention which ladies 

 are bestowing on this branch of domestic 

 economy. The useful will not be too much 

 sacrificed to the ornamental ; and while we 

 feel great pleasure in seeing our Cochin-Chi- 

 na's with small tails and perfect combs — our 

 Dorkings compact, square-built and five-toed, 

 and our spangled Hamburghs with the most 

 exact arrangement of bars upon the wings 

 and all other perfections, it will not be for- 

 gotten that these favorites rear us delicious 

 fowls for the table, give us a most abundant 

 supply of eggs, and prove themselves 'ami- 

 able and estimable in every relation of life.' 

 _ " The poultry, which occupied a large por- 

 tion of the building, was arranged in four 

 alleys with ranges of pens, also around the 

 walls of that portion of the interior. These 

 alleys became at times so much crowded with 

 visitors, especially on Thursday, the market 

 day, that there appears some danger of the 

 fowls eventually banishing the beautiful ani- 



mals which have hitherto occupied the re- 

 mainder of the hall. 



"AH who admire fine poultry, or wish to 

 make choice among the finest, should pay a 

 visit to the Birmingham show ; choice, how- 

 ever, would prove no easy task, where all 

 are so good. It would be difficult to find 

 whiter-faced Spanish fowls than those of 

 Captain Hornby, which took the first and 

 second prizes in the first class. The beauti- 

 ful Dorking fowls which took the prizes, must 

 have felt that they escaped an additional test, 

 from those which belonged to the Hon. and 

 Eev. Stephen Willoughby Lawley having 

 been disqualified from taking prizes, on ac- 

 count of their owner acting in the capacity 

 of judge. Both Dorkings and Game fowls 

 were splendid collections y but as usual, the 

 Cochin-China exceeded even these older 

 favorites in attracting numerous spectators 

 around their pens. The Malays were con- 

 sideredbetter than have lately been exhibited. 

 The Hamburghs and Polands in all their 

 varieties were very pretty, and Class 46 (for 

 any other distinct breed) was not forgotten 

 either in entries or prizes, with its array of 

 Cuckoo, White Poland, Rumpless, Frizzled, 

 Silk, Andalusian, and black Cochin-China 

 fowls. The Gold-laced and some other 

 Bantams were good ; and the collection of 

 pigeons, though not large, was both good 

 and pretty. 



" The judges of poultry were the Hon. and 

 Rev. Stephen Willoughby Lawley, Escrick 

 Rectory, near York ; G. R. Andrews, Esq., 

 Dorchester ; the Rev. Robert Pulleine, the 

 Rectory, Kirby Wlske, near Thirsk ; and 

 Mr. John Baily, Mount-street, Grosvenor- 

 square, London. Mr. T. L. Parker, Bir- 

 mingham, and Mr. Hale, Handsw r orth, were 

 judges of the pigeons." 



THE GREAT 

 METROPOLITAN POULTRY SHOW OF 1853. 



The First Show of the Society for estab- 

 lishing in our Great Metropolis an Annual 

 Exhibition of Poultry, Pigeons, and Rabbits, 

 took place on the 11th of the present month 

 — January. 



The Society enjoys the patronage of many 

 noblemen and gentlemen of distinction, in- 

 cluding the Duke of Rutland, the Marquis of 

 Salisbury, the Earls of Derby, Stanhope, 

 Cottenham, Stradbroke, Harrington, Ducie, 

 Clarendon, Lichfield, and Stamford ; Lord 

 Feversham, Lord Hastings, Lord Sandys, the 

 Marquis of Granby, and Lord Guernsey. 

 One of its main objects is, according to the 

 rules, " to afford an opportunity to the public 

 to improve their collections." It is, therefore, 

 provided that all the specimens figuring in 

 the Show shall be offered to competition by 



