4G1 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. c November ir, ism. 
Shows under Club Rules. —The Secretary reported that Dove 
Yalley (late Mayfield) and Southport Shows are to be held under 
Club rules, and subscriptions were granted to each of these Shows.— 
Alex. Comyns, Hon. Sec. Poultry Club,47, Chancery Lane. — Nov. 15th. 
THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE POULTRY CLUB. 
Ladies and Gentlemen, —We have, as your Committee, thought it desirable 
that the annual report of the proceedings of the Club be presented to you at the 
General Annual Meeting. We, therefore, now lay before you a brief account of 
what has been done since our previous report, issued in October, 1880. 
It will be m your recollection that at the last General Meeting a number of 
resolutions intended for the guidance of your Committee were passed. 
We have endeavoured to carry those resolutions into effect, and we refer to 
several of them at length in a later part of this report. 
The increase in the number of your Committee has to some extent obviated 
the difficulty formerly experienced in getting together a sufficiently large 
number of Committeemen to form a fairly representative meeting. 
Your Committee has met ten times since the last Annual Meeting of the 
Club, and numerous meetings of sub-committees appointed to consider various 
matters have also been held. 
Some twenty new members and as many associates have been added to the 
Club during the year, and it now numbers 110 members and 80 associates. 
Twelve shows have been held, or are announced as intended to be held, this 
season under Club rules. Amongst these are Wolverhampton, Cambridge, Belfast, 
and Southport. 
In order to mark their appreciation of the benefits to exhibitors arising from 
holding shows under Club rules, your Committee have granted subscriptions in 
aid of such shows where application has been made. 
In compliance with your directions your Committee have issued a circular to 
all fanciers whose names appeared in the “ Fanciers’ Directory ” for 1880. This 
circular directed attention to the objects of the Club, and cannot have failed to 
increase the influence of the Club by extending the knowledge of its rules and 
aims. 
As further directed by you a circular was sent to the Secretaries of the various 
leading railway companies in the United Kingdom, calling their attention to the 
treatment of exhibition birds on transit to and from shows. We are happy to 
have to inform you that, in compliance with a suggestion contained in the 
circular, many of the principal companies have issued to their employes a 
notice directing that special care be taken in the handling of exhibition poultry, 
and that no delay be allowed in the forwarding of them. 
Your Committee will feel obliged by your communicating to the Secretary 
particulars of any cases of rough handling which may coire under your notice. 
The circular sent out by your direction to secretaries of shows has led to 
several alterations in the dates of exhibitions being made, and some clashing 
of shows being thus avoided. 
The preparation of a Standard of Excellence has been commenced, and a Sub¬ 
committee appointed. The Sub-Committee have presented two reports to your 
Committee, which they have adopted, and have referred the matter back to the 
Sub-Committee. The first report has been published, and need not here be set 
out in detail. The Sub-Committee have, in accordance with the plan suggested 
in their first report, issued blank forms of Standard to a number of leading 
fanciers of each variety. Some delay has been caused by the great number of forms 
necessary, and the impracticability of having them printed owing to differences 
in the forms applicable to the several varieties. Further delay has arisen from 
the difficulty experienced in getting the forms returned filled up. The Standard 
Sub-Committee have, however, now commenced the somewhat arduous task of 
compiling a draft Standard upon the basis of the replies received. Their second 
report relates to the preparation of a draft Standard. Some proposals as to this 
matter will probably be submitted to you, and it will be for you to decide how 
the Standard shall be finally settled. 
As some misapprehension has arisen as to the object of framing a Standard, 
your Committee think it desirable to state that they do not recommend or sug¬ 
gest the application of the Standard in an arbitrary way to the actual work of 
judging, but merely propose that it should be used as a check upon inconsisten¬ 
cies in judging. To be of value it should represent the views of the majority of 
fanciers of each breed, and your Committee have therefore endeavoured to obtain 
the aid of leading fanciers as well outside the Club as within it. The number of 
those to whom the forms have been issued has necessarily been limited ; but as it 
is intended that the Standard before being finally settled shall be submitted to 
public criticism, it is hoped that all who are interested will assist by giving their 
views upon the draft Standard. 
Several disputes between members and others have been adjusted upon the 
intervention of the Club. 
Several claims by members against shows and individuals have also been 
settled upon the intervention of the Club. 
In some cases of defaulting shows your Committee have guaranteed the ex¬ 
penses of legal proceedings to recover the amount claimed. In regard to such 
matters the Club has no power to initiate proceedings itself, and can only act by 
giving publicity to the cases of default, and thus preventing a repetition of them. 
Your Committee regret to have to inform you, that in one case brought before 
them they have thought it necessary to disqualify a well-known exhibitor from 
competing at shows held under Club rules. 
The legal opinions taken by your Committee as to owners bidding for or buy¬ 
ing in their exhibits in open and selling classes have been so recently made 
public, that a lengthy reference to them appears unnecessary. It has been sug¬ 
gested that a test case should be tried at the cost of the Club, with the view of 
getting a legal decision as to the question incidentally raised as to the right of 
exhibitors to withdraw their exhibits from sale. Your Committee do not think 
this point of such importance as to warrant a heavy expenditure of the Club 
funds, and do not recommend the adoption of the course suggested. 
An opportunity having presented itself of purchasing a small private collec¬ 
tion of books treating of poultry, your Committee have so far carried out your 
recommendation as to the formation of a Club library as to acquire this collec¬ 
tion for the Club. They have not yet framed any rules as to the management 
of the library, which is, indeed, hardly of sufficient dimensions to be of much 
practical importance. 
Acting on your recommendation your Committee have decided to hold a Club 
Show. A favourable opportunity presented itself through the courtesy of the 
Committee of the Cambridge Ornithological Society, and arrangements have 
been made with that body that the Club Show of poultry be held at Cambridge 
in conjunction with the Show of Pigeons and Rabbits of the local Society on 
the 4th and 5th of January next. The preliminary arrangements have been 
entrusted to a Sub-Committee acting under the direction of your Committee. 
The schedule is in the printer’s hands, and will shortly be issued. To avoid any 
misapprehension it may be as well to state that the entire administrative ma¬ 
nagement of the Show will be in the hands of the local Society, whose Secretary 
will act as Secretary of the Show. 
The annual balance sheet for 1880 has already been published. Your Com¬ 
mittee need not therefore now further refer to the financial position of the 
Club.—F. G. DUTTON, President; Alex. COMYNS, lion. Sec.—Nov. lith, 1881. 
THE CRYSTAL PALACE SHOW. 
This Show, the great event in the year for poultry and Pigeon 
fanciers, commenced on Monday and closes to-night. It reached 
larger dimensions than ever, tho exhibits numbering no less than 
5021, of which 2851 were poultry and 2170 Pigeons. These figures 
are a conclusive answer to those who allege that general interest in 
such matters is declining. The arrangements were as usual admir¬ 
able ; but the difficulty of having so large a show competently 
judged is mere clearly exemplified than ever. Still, we think that 
something more might have been done by the Committee to avoid 
incurring the dissatisfaction of exhibitors. It is well known that 
one or two of the Judges who officiated as to the leading varieties 
have been on previous occasions found wanting. The Dorkings were 
for the first time judged by Mr. Raines, and loud were the complaints 
amongst exhibitors as to the system, or rather want of system, on 
which the awards were made. Dark Brahmas were once more taken 
by Mr. Teebay ; and once more, especially as to the pullet class, were 
the awards severely criticised on all hands. As an instance of the 
high prices which still prevail for Dark Brahmas, it may be men¬ 
tioned that the winning Dark cock (Sir H. Thompson’s) was a short 
time since purchased by his present owner for sixty guineas. The 
Light Brahma classes were judged by Mr. Lucas, who here made his 
debut, and, as we anticipated, gave almost general satisfaction. In 
Partridge Cochin hens and pullets Mr. Dixon’s awards were even 
more severely criticised than those in the other classes to which 
we have referred. Here indeed there is great need of seme fixed 
standard being arrived at. Mr. Smith’s decisions in the Game classes 
were, as usual, well received ; and Mr. Burnell, who had the some¬ 
what arduous task of adjudicating upon the French, Leghorn, Ply¬ 
mouth Rock, Andalusian, Minorca, Langshan, Sultan, and table-fowl 
classes, was, we thought, generally happy in his selections. 
We may say that we had on the Saturday evening an opportunity 
of seeing the arrangements for receiving and penning the exhibits, 
and that the care and method with which the vast mass of birds 
were dealt with was most praiseworthy. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Cutting Fowls’ Wings (T .).—You can prevent your birds from flying 
by cutting what are known as the flight feathers of one wing. The flight 
feathers are those which when the wing is closed are completely covered by the 
secondary wing feathers, which alone are visible. If you leave the outside 
flight feather untouched the appearance of the bird will be entirely uninjured. 
If, however, you want the birds for exhibition, this cutting of the wing might 
be regarded as a disqualification in some breeds. There is, we believe, a 
wing-iock sold by Miss May Arnold intended for preventing exhibition birds 
from flying. You might, perhaps, try this. 
Rape Cake v. Wireworms (A. II. II .).—It is only rape cake, not oil 
cake, which is said to destroy wireworms, and it is further said that they fill 
themselves to repletion by feeding thereon and are thus killed. If it does 
destroy them the rape cake should be drilled with roots or corn at the rate of 
5 cwt. per acre, broken into pieces about the size of horse beans or peas. We, 
however, do not place much reliance on the destruction of wireworm by their 
feeding on any kind of cake. Our experience in extirpating them is not by 
their destruction. We managed a farm for thirteen years on the four-course 
system of cropping—viz., Wheat, roots, Lent corn, and Clover. During this 
period the wireworms increased greatly, and male it very difficult to obtain a 
plant of roots or corn in consequence of their depredations. We then com¬ 
menced Potato culture, and after one course of these we seldom saw a wireworm 
on the farm, for we found that they ate their way into holes in the Potato 
tubers, and secreted themselves, and were sent away with the tubers at digging 
time. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
CAMDEN SQUARE LONDON. 
Lat. 51° 32'40" N.; Long.0°8'0” W.; Altitude,111 feet. 
DATE. 
9 A.M. 
IN THE DAY. 
• O 
O' c* c3 — 
Hygrome- 
a . 
Shade Tem- 
Radiation 
fl 
1881. 
oti 60 > 
ter. 
d— o 
o 
perature. 
Temperature. 
03 
03 
November. 
3 is 3 ^ 
££ 
In 
On 
SQ2 ss 
Dry. 
Wet. 
So 
PH 
Max. 
Min. 
sun. 
grass. 
Inches. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg 
deg. 
In. 
Sun. 6 
3".140 
54.1 
53.5 
N. 
47.4 
58.7 
53.2 
92.6 
61.0 
_ 
Mon. 7 
31* .215 
55.5 
49.6 
S.E. 
47.3 
55.6 
43.3 
C8.S 
25 6 
_ 
Tues. 8 
30.210 
52.6 
52.3 
N.E. 
47.7 
54.3 
48.8 
55.4 
47.7 
_ 
Wed. 9 
30.115 
45.1 
44.9 
N.E. 
48.3 
52.4 
44.3 
67.7 
41.4 
_ 
Thurs. 10 
30.043 
60.0 
54.4 
s.w. 
47.6 
69.6 
41.4 
71.4 
36.3 
_ 
Friday 11 
30.252 
54.4 
52.5 
w. 
48.4 
58.4 
49.6 
G6.2 
4.3.6 
0.086 
Satur. 12 
30.129 
53.7 
52.3 
w. 
49.3 
59.3 
51.8 
95.2 
47.7 
— 
30.158 
53.1 
51.4 
48.0 
58.9 
47.5 
73.8 
43.3 
0.086 
REMARKS. 
6th.—Dull and damp in early morning; bright, warm, very fine day; moonlight 
7tb.—Hazy, damp, calm, and mild ; little sunshine in forenoon. [night. 
8th.—Hazy and generally overcast. 
9th.—Misty early ; fine day ; sunshine in afternoon. 
10th.—Damp morning ; fine, mild, pleasant day. [9.15 P.M. 
11th.—Fine and mild ; damp overcast evening; wind at night. Lightning at 
12th.—Fine, bright, and mild. 
A very warm week, especially at night. The average minimum temperature 
for this week is within 1£° of the average maximum of the previous week.— 
G. J. SYMONS. 
