JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
January 26, 1882. ] 
83 
the lines, reach across the whole space, and completely keep down 
any weeds, thus saving at least one horse-hoeing. 
On the hill farnj on the chalk, sand, or stone formations, if the 
weather should continue fine and open Barley may be sown if the 
land is clean. IVe never regard the date if the season is favourable 
and a good malting sample is required. One of the leading points, 
however, to be considered is that the Barley should be drilled or 
sown after the presser, so that the lines may be from 10 to 12 inches 
apart, for even on the chalk soils we have seen this plan carried to 
perfection, and have advocated it as being the best system whereby 
a stout malting sample can be obtained. Upon some of the mixed 
soils on the vale farms, however, it is impossible to depend upon 
obtaining a full-bodied grain of Barley except it is sown as dredge 
in admixture with Oats, and we have rarely seen an instance where 
the Barley has been thin. The only way to account for this is that 
the Barley has plenty of room, spreads its roots near the surface of 
the soil, whereas the Oats root more deeply into the subsoil. We 
have machines which will separate the Oats from the Barley perfectly. 
We can state with truth that on many soils it is the only way we 
can obtain a malting sample. The best Oats, however, to mix with 
Barley are the Black Tartarian, which is rather late variety and will 
wait until the Barley is perfectly ripe without shedding or shaking by 
the wind, which in some situations is frequently the cause of serious 
loss. 
We must now look forward to the season for sowing Oats of an 
early variety, such as the Canadian and Swiss variety, both being 
white and of excellent weight and quality, also both are very early— 
a most important matter, especially if we grow stubble Turnips after¬ 
wards. It is also well adapted for Clover in the autumn, for when 
the corn is cut early Clover will grow very quickly. Last harvest 
scarcely any of the seeds appeared alive, yet the rains which com¬ 
menced the first week in August gave us upon some farms a good 
cutting of green Clover for the cattle in October and November. 
Hand Labour .—Men are still employed in thrashing and winnowing 
Wheat and Barley, this matter being more particularly a question of 
labour and condition rather than of price of the grain. It is well to 
keep the hand labour forward during the leisure period. Trenching 
in the meadows, and continued attention in irrigated grass land 
should be carried out. 
Live Stock .—Ewes and lambs will now require special attention, as 
the store flocks of the Hants and Sussex Downs will soon be entering 
on the root-feeding ; also the horned ewes with their early lambs 
are very fine this year, and freer from lameness than we have known 
them for several seasons. Where these have been well fed the lambs 
are now ready in considerable numbers to be sent to the London 
market, and will this year fetch a good price. The foreign impor¬ 
tation of meat does not consist of choice fat lambs. It is, however, 
sometimes the case that very small sheep of light weights imported 
from abroad are dressed as lambs and sold as such, but they are very 
different on the table as compared with our best fed lambs. On the 
stock farms the young lambs will have a plentiful supply of Turnip 
greens, as they have lately grown up very quickly, but the lambs 
should receive a good allowance of hay and trough food in order to 
counteract the laxative effect of the Turnip greens. The flocks of 
wether sheep and tegs are now doing well, especially in those cases 
where they receive half a pound of oilcake per day with hay and 
cut roots. 
COCHINS AND BRAHMAS. 
We publish to-day the portrait of Mr. H. Tomlinson’s Buff 
Cochin hen “ Empress,” to which we referred a week or two back 
in our notice of that gentleman’s establishment. As we have 
stated, our readers may fairly take this bird as a model of Cochin 
shape and characteristics. Of late years there has seemed to us 
to be rather a tendency on the part of judges and exhibitors to 
confound the Cochin and Brahma types. These are in reality 
perfectly distinct. The Cochin shape is round and lumpy ; the 
carriage is what may be described as down by the head ; the 
cushion rises almost from the base of the neck hackle, and falls 
again considerably to the tip of the tail feathers, which it almost 
covers. The Brahma, on the other hand, is much more level in 
carriage than the Cochin ; the cushion does not rise directly from 
the neck hackle, but the back falls a little towards the centre, and 
the cushion then rises gradually and continuously to the tail. 
The curve formed by the cushion of a Cochin is convex, that 
formed by the cushion of a Brahma is concave. Another leading 
point of distinction is, that while there cannot be too much soft 
fluff about a Cochin, a Brahma should be rather hard in feather 
than otherwise. There can hardly be too little quill feather in 
the tail of a Cochin, whilst the Brahma should have a moderate 
amount of tail. This distinction would also seem to justify the 
allowance of a larger amount of hock feather to the Brahma than 
to the Cochin, although, as judges seem now so generally to 
recognise as admissible hocks of any dimensions, much weight 
cannot be attached to this distinction. The Brahma is squarer in 
shape than the Cochin, and has a more ample development of 
breast. The legs of a Cochin can hardly be too short, while most 
fanciers prefer a fair length of leg in a Brahma, especially as to 
cocks and cockerels. 
NOTES ON THE WOLVERHAMPTON SHOW. 
The Wolverhampton Show, which may be said to close the season 
as far as really important exhibitions of poultry and Pigeons are con¬ 
cerned, commenced on Friday last and closed on Monday. The 
entries of poultry were 766 in sixty-two classes as against 726 in 
fifty-one classes last year. The extended classification has, therefore 
not brought with it a proportionate increase in the number of entries! 
We regret this, as the Wolverhampton Show has always been well man¬ 
aged and deserves the support of all fanciers. A part of the falling- 
off is doubtless to be attributed to a somewhat injudicious selection 
of the Judge for the Brahma classes. Mr. Burnell deservedly takes a 
high position as an all-round judge, and as a special judge of certain 
breeds, notably Dorkings, but we think it was a little indiscreet on 
the part of the Committee to ask him to officiate, and on his part to 
undertake to officiate, as judge in the Brahma classes at a Show like 
Wolverhampton. That this feeling was pretty general may be seen 
Fig. 17. 
by a comparison of the names of the exhibitors last year with those 
this year. With the exception of Mr. G-. H. Wood, Mr. R. Mitchell, 
and Mr. R. P. Percival, who are exhibitors in other classes besides 
Brahmas, and the local Brahma exhibitors who muster pretty 
strongly, the leading names were conspicuous for their absence. The 
entries showed a considerable falling-off, numbering only 90 as 
against 130 last year. _ 
The classification opened as usual with Game, which had 85 entries. 
The Committee were unfortunate in being deprived of the services of 
Mr. Lane, who was to have judged these classes, but who was pre¬ 
vented by indisposition from attending. In his absence they were 
taken by Mr. Dixon, whom Mr. Burnell relieved of some of the other 
classes to enable him to undertake Mr. Lane’s work. The Game cup 
was awarded to Mr. H. E. Martin for a fine reachy Black Red cock 
shown in splendid condition. M. J. R. Fletcher won in the other 
variety cock class with a Brown Red ; Mr. J. R. Pratt took a similar 
honour with a very hard-feathered Black Red cockerel, while firsts 
were also awarded to Messrs. A. J. Fludyer for Brown Red cockerel; 
G. Carless for a Duckwing cockerel; D. Harley for a Brown Red hen ; 
and to Mrs. T. W. Stubbs for a Black Red hen. The classification of 
the Game is a little peculiar, but we presume the Committee finds it 
necessary to adopt it to meet the number of entries of cocks and hens 
respectively. 
