Poultry at the Norwich Shoiv. 
717 
absent. The representatives of Scotch Grejs at Norwich did 
not do justice to the breed, as thej were a long way behind 
what can be seen at the best Scotch Shows. Mr. Duncan 
Maclaren's were the best, and that exhibitor deservedly won in 
both classes. Only a second prize was given for the chickens, 
of which there was but one pen present. I thought they were 
quite worth a first. This breed deserves to be more widely 
known. 
We come now to the second group, namely, those which are 
known as non-sitters, and are specially characterised for their 
laying qualities ; these comprise two great families, the Spanish 
and the Hamburghs. In the former are the Spanish proper, 
the Minorcas, the Leghorns, and the Andalusians. Black 
Spanish were given classes at the Preston Show, but were 
omitted from the list at Norwich, the reason being, I suppose, 
that as they have been practically spoiled for economic purposes 
by the sacrifice of everything to the White face, they are not 
considered to be worthy of a place. It is also probable that 
as all Spanish which pretend to be Show birds are trimmed, 
the regulations of the Society necessarily prohibited their 
appearance. But the other three members of the family were 
given classes, and made a very creditable show, though they 
were not as numerous as I could have wished. 
At one time the Andalusian, or Blue Spanish as they were 
commonly called, were known in many parts of the country, 
and regarded as one of the best varieties for laying purposes. 
They have, however, somewhat fallen into oblivion. The reason 
for this is that blue or slate-coloured plumage is very difficult 
to maintain, and this fact has made breeders reluctant to take 
them up to the same extent as some other breeds. The intro- 
duction of many new varieties has also called attention off 
the Andalusian and transferred it to these latter, which often 
have been less deserving. All things considered, the Show of 
this variety at Norwich was most creditable, though there were 
only ten pens. Amongst the old birds the winning lot owned 
by the Rev. E. O. Bridgeman were decidedly the best, and 
were capital representatives of the variety. Mr. H. Abbott's 
and Mr. E. Merrall's were also good. The chickens were not 
sufficiently forward to show to advantage, and of these I thoug;ht 
the lot owned by Messrs. Leighton and Halliwell the best. The 
special characteristic of the Andalusian is being a layer, and 
a recent writer on the breed says that he has had many pullets, 
which have laid upward of 250 eggs in a year. The eggs arc 
also very large, and in some of the best strains hens' eggs will 
only run about six to the pound. None of the Spanish familv 
can be regarded as great in meat qualities, but the pullets are 
