Chirps and 
Chatter. 
(214) THE BIRD WORLD. 
Amongst the Railway Men. 
At most of the large railway centres in 
the country are to be found a number 
of bird lovers, and some most excellent 
shows are organised amongst them. The 
first of the railway men’s shows this season 
was Peterborough, and it was an un¬ 
qualified success. The entry was tre¬ 
mendous, and the exhibits reached a 
very high degree of excellence. The 
Norwich section was superb, both in 
numbers and quality; whilst the Hybrids 
and British birds were quite a show in 
themselves. The Yorkshire section was 
liberally supported by both Northern 
and Southern breeders, and at the finish 
honours were fairly easy, the Southern 
birds holding their own well. One of 
the most pleasing features of present- 
day aviculture is the progress which is 
being made b/ Southern breeders of 
Canaries. 
A Glut in the South. 
One of the most prevalent causes of 
non-success amongst our shows is the 
clashing which takes place, and in the 
third week of the month Brighton, 
Rochester, Southall, Ashford, and Dul¬ 
wich were all held at the same time. 
Neither was an absolute failure, whilst 
Caterham and Brighton were stronger 
than usual, and Dulwich secured a 
wonderful success, the entry being con¬ 
siderably over 1,000. Outside of the 
two premier societies this is much the 
best entry ever achieved by a metropoli¬ 
tan ornithological society, and the most 
pleasing feature about it was the manner 
in which it was spread over the whole 
show, all sections being equally well 
supported. If one section more than 
another calls for special comment it is 
that of “ the wee sma’ Borders.” These 
little gems mustered in stronger force 
than they ever have at a Southern fixture. 
From Scotland, from the Northern Coun¬ 
ties, and from the South did they come 
in legions. Gratifying as all this was, 
it was more pleasing still to find English 
breeders holding their own well against 
the champions from across the Border. 
Dulwich Show ought to give a fillip to 
the breeding of these charming little 
birds. 
Westward Ho ! 
Exeter and Plymouth Shows, thus far, 
have shown us that the men of Devon 
are making headway. The show at the 
county town was a very pleasant little 
function, whilst that at Plymouth, held 
by the Western Counties Ornithological 
Association, eclipsed all previous re¬ 
cords, nearly 900 birds being staged. 
This Society, which is within two years 
of its Jubilee Show, is to be congratu¬ 
lated most heartily upon the virility and 
stamina which it is exhibiting in its old 
age. It is our oldest society, and yet 
its members are as full of enthusiasm 
as if the society had only recently been 
initiated. Plymouth has ever been one 
of the strongholds of the Fancy, and 
it is pleasing to find it still keeping its 
end up. The Yorkshire and Norwich of 
its forty-eighth show were the finest ever 
seen so far West, and the competition 
will not be keener at any show this 
season. Although Mules and British 
Birds only had a restricted classification 
the entry was remarkably good, and 
some very choice and rare birds were 
staged. Away in Cornwall the Hayle 
fanciers had a record show, the Norwich 
section especially being most excellent. 
Amazing Figures. 
On October 18th and 19th were held 
two shows—Newcastle and Glasgow— 
which gave amazing evidence of the 
rapid strides which the cage bird fancy 
is making on both sides of the Border. 
At Glasgow the entries totalled just 
under 1,400, whilst at Newcastle they 
exceeded 1,500, and at each show many 
records were broken. At each show 
the judges’ work was most arduous, as, 
in addition to the wonderful entry, the 
quality of the exhibits exceeded any¬ 
thing previously seen at either centre. 
Further South, the two great shows of 
Lancashire—Manchester and Rochdale 
—were both pleasing and successful 
fixtures, but whilst Rochdale had an 
increased entry, Manchester was some¬ 
what below last year’s fixtures. At Roch¬ 
dale the increased interest in the Lanca¬ 
shire and Lizard classes were the feature,, 
while at Manchester Yorkshires, Greens, 
and Norwich were exceptionally strong. 
