1G8 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. E August is, mu 
mind how the sooty feet and legs have been produced in the Dor¬ 
king, and if the fancier only went the right way to work he might 
doubtless in a few years get rid of it. But he awards prizes to 
birds with dark toe nails and sooty feet instead of making a 
decided stand against them, and so the evil becomes more and 
more widespread. I deny most emphatically that the Grey Dor¬ 
king was a delicate bird. I have seen it thrive under the most 
adverse circumstances, and I never saw in the old stocks any 
bumble feet nor any of the leg-weakness that is so prevalent with 
the exhibition Dorking. The way this last is forced to get size 
has decidedly weakened its strength of bone. Judging at a show 
this week I had ocular demonstration of the fact added to my 
former knowledge. But whilst noticing these birds I may men¬ 
tion that every one in the class had more or less sooty feet and 
legs, and I therefore disqualified the whole. I shall do the same 
again whenever I judge under the same conditions. I am deter¬ 
mined that as far as I possibly can to prevent the true old white¬ 
legged Dorking from being lost; and I will strive by argument, 
by my pen, and by offering prizes from my own pocket to resus¬ 
citate it, and prevent its being overwhelmed by the size, coarse¬ 
ness, and colour of a dark-legged mongrel. With regard to a 
new “standard of excellence,” there is the old one laid down by 
the old true Dorking fanciers. To me it only shows that the 
modern fancier has got into such a muddle he cannot any longer 
breed to it. 
With regard to what Mr. Meall says I shall notice this on another 
occasion, when I shall be able to show by extracts of books the 
value of much that is printed. In my opinion, whether a farmer 
keeps an animal or a bird, he had better keep a pure breed. Of 
course I am open to conviction, and if I find I am wrong from 
actual observation and facts I shall not be slow to acknowledge 
it, and I have a very good field here in which I may gain much 
information on the subject, as there are poultry farms that I know 
of at which fowls are raised for commercial purposes only. As 
regards the words “Fanciers versus Farmers” there cannot be 
two opinions respecting it. Whatever the writer might have in his 
mind, the impression on others was certainly not what he (according 
to his own showing) intended. Would it not have been better to 
have used as heading “Fanciers and Farmers?” It would have 
been much more pleasing to the latter.— Harrison Weir. 
FAMOUS POULTRY YARDS. 
TRTJMPING-TON (L. C. C. R. NORRIS, ESQ.) 
We had before seen and admired Mr. Norris’s yards, but it was 
each time under the chilling influence of a wintry wind. Superb 
stock there was in them—Dark Brahma cocks with dense black fluff, 
and hens of matchless pencilling; but we could not do justice to 
them when seen under such auspices. The birds, too, were mostly 
too well known in the show pen to need description. We have now 
been more fortunate, and on a sunny August afternoon have seen the 
same yards teeming with a multitude of growing and promising 
chickens, all, save one or two, hatched since we saw their homes in 
the beginning of February. It is true that the greater portion of the 
adult stock has gone for change of air to some country runs, but 
chickens are to us always the most interesting part of the poultry 
yard. They suggest the hopes of the coming season, and certainly 
Mr. Norris’s chickens must fill him with many hopes. Singularly 
different have been the “ famous yards ” we have described—some 
tenanted by almost every known breed ; others, like that at Trump- 
ington, renowned for but one or two varieties. 
We must confess that our own fancy for poultry is somewhat 
general, and that we have by no means restricted ourselves to one or 
two breeds ; yet we have come to the conclusion that the fancier who 
does so derives the maximum of pleasure from his pursuit. He masters 
the peculiarities of his favourite kind, he knows the individual birds 
better, remembers or registers all their pedigrees, and consequently 
breeds more scientifically. Different premises have different capa¬ 
bilities, and the occupations of fanciers lead them to keep poultry on 
different scales. To one who, like Mr. Norris, keeps them as a 
relaxation from intellectual labour, nothing can be more charming 
than to have a couple of breeds brought to the highest perfection, 
and all close at hand, where they can be seen in a few minutes. 
We will describe the Trumpington yards in the order we saw them 
on our last visit. The breeding yards came first, now all tenanted 
by chickens. These are away from the house, in a paddock bought 
for the special benefit of the poultry. An acre of more of grass land, 
with here and there a fine tree, is divided into about a dozen runs ; in 
each is a well-roofed house, and attached to it a dry shed—the picture 
of neatness and cleanliness, with a nice flooring of grit. Here, when 
we arrived unexpectedly, Mr. Norris was busied in making selections 
of the more promising cockerels from a mixed multitude, to be 
drafted to select runs. As usual, the faithful custodian of the poultry 
was with him—a veritable walking dictionary of the dates of every 
bird’s birth. Every run was full of young stock, almost fuller than we 
should care to keep our own at this season ; but the grass is constantly 
swept, and so they are kept sweet. In the first we found a score or 
more of Dark Brahma cockerels of pullet-breeding strains ; certainly 
their female relations are more beautiful than themselves. Then 
came yard after yard of Dark and Light cockerels mixed, of various 
ages and sizes. The latter breed has only of late been added to the 
Trumpington yards, and we shall expect to see Mr. Norris continue 
to hold the place which he has already taken in the first rank of its 
exhibitors from his experience in breeding Darks. Certainly we 
never saw more shapely and promising birds than some of the Light 
cockerels—so square and deep in body, and so densely feathered •. 
indeed, what struck us most through all the yards was the fineness of 
foot and leg feathering in both breeds, combined with absence of vul¬ 
ture hocks. Most careful breeding alone can have brought this 
about, for usually in yards whence well-feathered birds come they 
are the very few selected from troops with vulture hocks ; but not so 
here. We saw no underfeathered birds, and scarcely any with stiff 
hocks. Another point, too, has been gained by selection. We 
examined several half-grown cockerels of the Dark variety, and saw 
their young hackles coming through of the purest silver, and quite 
free from the yellow sap, which we once thought inseparable from 
this stage of growth. 
From cockerels we came to yards of pullets. Dark Brahmas show¬ 
ing wonderful pencilling, even in their chicken feathers, down to 
their very feet; and Lights with extraordinarily black neck hackles 
and splendid feathering. One in particular took our fancy—very- 
short on the legs, densely fluffy, and broad in body. She is now in 
perfect show condition, and will assuredly run the risk of being 
called a hen by-and-by ; such sometimes is the reward of much care 
bestowed on early chickens ! Younger Light pullets, too, were 
there, promising at least as well for some day to come, but still in 
the leggy stage of chickenhood. Last in this row of runs came the 
earliest cockerels, scarcely so forward as they generally ate in this 
yard, yet one or two Darks should come to the fore at the Palace. 
The earliest of the lot unfortunately died after winning early honours 
at a show. We must not omit to mention that all this wealth of 
chickens, in a somewhat exposed position, is guarded by the finest of 
Mr. Norris’s St. Bernard dogs (for in these he excels as much as in 
poultry)—a noble fellow indeed. 
From this collection of runs we retraced our steps to the pretty 
shady lawn of the house, and inspected the few of the adult birds 
which are still at Trumpington. These are chiefly Dark cocks. 
There are rows of small houses for them round the garden. Each 
has a covered wire run in front with boarded sides. Nothing could 
be more suitable for the moulting of single birds. Then we came to 
other larger runs, the inmates of which loost in portions of a dry 
barn. All is beautifully kept, the floors sanded and the yards swept, 
and thence we passed to the famous Rose garden. In a shed with 
wired run was a beautiful early Light Brahma cockerel, and here we 
saw packed away the coops which we had once before seen filled with 
a tribe of chickens fresh from the incubator, pecking away where 
Roses now bloom. Everything is good of its kind here—a great merit 
in our eyes. 
Last, but not least, we saw the kennel. All St. Bernard’s of the 
highest pedigree, reaching back to the dogs of the Hospice, but far 
finer than anything we have ever seen there. Doubtless this climate 
suits their development, for one of the Trumpington favourites, which 
we specially admired on a former visit, was no longer there, having 
been purchased for a Swiss kennel. Thus passed a pleasant after¬ 
noon. We believe that many of our less fortunate readers are glad 
to learn something about famous yards, and of the pains and science 
which have made them famous.—0. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
CAMDEN SQUARE,LONDON. 
Lafc. 51° 32'40” N.; Long.0° 8'0" W.; Altitude,111 feet. 
.DATE. 
9 A.M. 
In the day. 
Rain. 
1881. 
August. 
1 Barome- 
! ter at 32° 
1 and Sea 
i Level 
Hygrome¬ 
ter. 
Direction 
of Wind. 
Temp, of 
Soil at 
1 foot. 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
sun. 
On 
grass. 
inches. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
In. 
Sun. 7 
30.158 
63.8 
01.0 
W. 
63.4 
74.4 
49.2 
112.2 
418 
_ 
Mon. 8 
29.849 
66.6 
00.7 
s. 
63.4 
76.3 
54.4 
120.6 
49.6 
0.776 
Tues. 9 
V 9.564 
56.1 
52.7 
s.w. 
63.2 
72.2 
51.7 
121.3 
48.8 
Wed. 10 
29.814 
59.6 
55.4 
S.W. 
62.3 
70.3 
53.3 
111.6 
48.9 
0.026 
Thurs. 11 
29.823 
60.0 
53.2 
s.w. 
60.9 
68.8 
47.8 
119.2 
43.0 
0.054 
Friday 12 
29.813 
54.7 
52.7 
Calm. 
60.8 
02.9 
53.6 
62.9 
53.4 
0.840 
Satur. 13 
29.668 
57.3 
52.3 
N.W. 
59.5 
00.0 
45.9 
98.7 
43.5 
— 
Means. 
29.813 
59.7 
54.9 
61.9 
69.3 
50.8 
106.6 
47.4 
1.696 
REMARKS. 
7tb.—Very fine and bright throughout. 
8th.—Overcast and dull; rain at 4 P.M., and heavy rain during the evening, 
and much wind. 
9th.—Wild, dull morning; still breezy, but fine bright afternoon ; clear moon¬ 
light night. [light night. 
10th.—Overcast, slight rain in forenoon; fine, bright, breezy afternoon ; moon- 
11th.—Bright and cold in early morning, overcast at intervals during the day ; 
high squally wind ; rain at 10.16 r.M. 
12th.—Rain throughout, and very misty. 
13th.—Fine and bright at first, afterwards cloudy. 
Temperature below the average, and the coolest week since the middle of 
June. Rainfall rather large.— G. J. SYMONS. 
