248 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. c September 9 , leso. 
as a much smaller bait of Mangolds is requisite for fattening sheep 
than of common Turnips, Cabbages, &c., and also a larger portion of 
cracked Beans or Peas should be used at first until the animals become 
accustomed to that sort of food; it will then be found that sheep 
will fatten faster upon the Mangolds than upon Turnips. This is the 
season for the flocks of Hampshire Downs to have the rams running 
with the ewes, and it is important if we wish to know the result of 
stock derived from certain sheep that they should be ochred with 
different colours. The earliest Dorset ewes will be now heavy in 
lamb, and must be fed and cared for accordingly. In various respects 
in purchasing these ewes whilst pregnant it is desirable to buy them 
and get them home if possible without going to the fairs, and also by 
drifting instead of by railway carriage, as these ewes never do so well 
as when driven, although near to lambing. 
TOY PIGEONS—THE JACOBIN. 
Next to the Fantail there is none of the Toy Pigeons more 
universally known than the Jacobin. Its quaint hood and chain 
have been the delight of most of us in childhood ; its gait is 
elegant and attractive, and it is a docile and tameable bird. 
There is much difference in this respect in the dispositions of 
Pigeons. Our favourites the Archangels, agile and beautiful as 
they are on the wing, are somewhat shy in the loft and aviary, 
but the Jacobin soon becomes confident. It is one of the oldest 
fancy varieties, and the descriptions of it given by the writers of 
the middle of the last century are good even of the present type 
of Jacobin. There then seems to have been a very similar though 
separate variety—the “Hough”—which was superior in one of 
the Jacobin’s properties—viz., “chain,” but inferior in others, 
especially size, for it was a large bird, whereas the Jacobin should 
be one of the smallest of Pigeons. The two breeds were unfor¬ 
tunately much crossed, and in all probability the Jacobin has in 
consequence never recovered the diminutive size which was once 
one of its chief beauties. As in the case of other varieties, so 
with this, we will not attempt to improve upon good descriptions, 
but will quote one written 115 years ago—“The true Jack is a 
very small bird, very little bigger than a Tumbler, and the smaller 
it is the better. It has a range of feathers inverted quite over the 
hinder part of the head and reaching down on each side of the 
neck to the shoulders of the wings, which forms a kind of hood 
something like friar’s, from whence it takes the name of Jacobin, 
the fathers of that order wearing hoods to cover their baldness. 
Therefore the upper part of this range of feathers is called the 
hood, and the more compact these feathers are, and the closer 
they are to the head, so much the more the bird is valued. The 
lower part of this range of feathers is with us called the chain, 
but the Dutch call it the cravat, the feathers of which should be 
long and close, that were you to strain the neck a little by taking 
hold of the bill the two sides should fold over each other, which 
may be seen in some of the best.” 
To enumerate the points of the Jacobin one by one, the head 
should be small and round, face and beak short, eye pearl; the 
colour of the head white down to a line from the beak to the eye. 
When the white extends below the beak towards the throat the 
bird’s appearance is much spoilt. The hood should fit as closely 
to the head as possible and be well rounded ; badly shaped hoods 
often run up into a peak. The hood externally is of the general 
colour of the bird with no white visible, but on the other hand 
the colour must not run into the white head. Faults in the accu¬ 
racy of this marking are very common, and here it is that the 
inexperienced should look out for trimming. The chain is, as it 
wcr j , a continuation of the hood, and should be as long as possib’e. 
There is difference of opinion as to its form. According to the 
older fanciers the curling feathers seem merely to have turned 
one way—viz., towards the breast; they now generally turn also 
towards the back, and those which so turn are called the “ mane.” 
This makes another point—viz., the “rose,” or spot from which 
these curling feathers radiate on all sides. There are still some 
fanciers who much dislike the addition of these more modern 
properties of the mane and rose. The distinction between the 
two “fancies” can hardly be explained without the comparison of 
living specimens. It has always seemed to us to some extent a 
difference of words, for many Jacobins will appear at one time to 
have a mane, at another to be devoid of it, according to their 
position and attitude. 
As to colour the head of Jacobins is, as we have said, white ; 
the tail and flights are the same. The rule as to the latter point 
is not so strict as with Turbits and other breeds, for Jacobins 
showing some colour in the flights are often seen in the show pen. 
The colour of the thighs is optional ; for our own part we prefer 
them coloured to white. The ordinary colours of Jacobins are 
red, yellow, and black, all of which we find very rich in this 
breed. Blues are pretty, but are now very rare. There are also 
whole or self-coloured Jacobins ; these are not attractive and are 
generally coarse, save the white ones, which are very pretty, and 
when good in points very valuable. For information to the young 
fancier we may say that such almost always are spotted with red 
in their youth, and only become pure white after several moults. 
The Jacobin is fairly prolific, but highly bred birds are generally 
bad mothers and nurses, and their eggs must be entrusted to foster 
parents. Another warning, too, should be given : The breed is, 
as we said, very confiding and, from its hood, not quick of sight; 
it therefore easily falls a prey to cats. Jacobins when good all 
round will always fetch a high price, and even fair specimens if 
really good in certain points are of some value.—C. 
THE CREWE POULTRY SHOW. 
The Show of the Royal Manchester, Liverpool, and North Lanca¬ 
shire Society opened at Crewe on Thursday in last week and continued 
till Monday night—far too long a time for poultry, specially for chickens 
of the year, of which it entirely consisted. It is always interesting 
to see the early produce of the year, and as this Show is the first of 
importance at which young birds are alone eligible we think it worthy 
of a general notice. This time last year we were struck by the great 
mediocrity of chickens in general except Dorkings, which through the 
summer always seem to benefit by plenty of rain ; this year, on the 
contrary, all breeds are good, and especially so the Asiatics, which 
in 1879 failed. We doubt if taken all round we have ever in the first 
days of September seen so fine a collection of chickens as those in 
the show tent at Crewe. 
Dorkings. —The dark cockerels were an even lot in size ; nearly 
every one of them had some one fault, and so no bird won easily. 
We did not like the fifth claws of the first; second was white-legged 
and pretty ; Messrs. Smyth’s bird was in many ways the best in the 
class, though his comb was ugly ; their first pullet was a good bird, large 
and short-legged ; Mr. Darby’s second, good in colour. In the other 
Dorking classes a very superior White cockerel was first, a fair Silver- 
Grey being second ; a good Silver-Grey pullet first, though she looked 
a little wry-tailed, and a large White second. 
Spanish were few. The first cockerel had a long healthy face ; the 
first pullet was the only good one in the class. 
Cochins were all round certainly good classes. As usual Mr. Sidg- 
wick’s were extraordinarily forward ; the first Buff cockerel and pullet 
were fully worthy of their exhibitor’s fame for early birds. The 
former was an extremely thick and well-feathered bird ; the second 
and third cockerels too were good, but not so massive and forward. 
The first pullet was very even in colour ; the second short-legged and 
fresh-looking. The first Partridge cockerel was a remarkable young 
bird, son we heard of the celebrated GO-guinea cockerel last year ; the 
second cockerel was square and very massive, younger than the first, 
but a little spoilt by a light eye. The first Partridge pullet was 
forward and the clearest in pencilling. The first White cockerel was 
forward and very fair bird, a little yellow ; the first and second pullets 
were both capital birds with little to choose between them. We 
admired a Black 640 (Badger). 
Brahmas. —The first Dark cockerel was a grand bird, such as we have 
not seen for a long time, square, short-legged, and densely feathered, 
and by no means at his best yet. The first and second pullets were 
beautifully pencilled but narrow, and to our idea poor in form. The 
first Light cockerel, good in colour but heavily hocked ; second, neat in 
shape and not hocked ; third, younger, very good in colour. The first 
pullet was very handsome in shape and beautifully white, but not yel¬ 
low enough in legs to please us ; second, too much hocked. We failed 
to see the awards in most of the later classes, as we visited the Show 
on the first day. The Hamburghs looked good all round, the Blacks 
being particularly forward. In Polish, first in both classes were 
White-crested Blacks. We thought the first cockerel’s crest too much 
divided and dropping; we much admired the second cockerel of the 
same breed. The first pullet was very forward, the second a good 
Silver. In the variety classes the first cockerel was a Malay, the 
second a Black Minorca. First in pullets was a Plymouth Rock, 
second a White Leghorn, and third a Malay. The heat on the first 
day of the Show was almost insupportable in the tent, and the birds 
seemed to suffer a good deal. Their general quality was such as 
to excite expectations of some fine exhibitions in October and 
November. 
POULTRY.—DORKINGS.— Grey.—Cockerel— E. T. Herdman. 2, A. E. W.Darby. 
Pullet— 1, J. A. & M. F. Smyth. 2, A. E. \V. Darby. 3, T. Briden. Silver-Grey or 
White— Cockerel— 1, O. E. Oresswell. 2, W. Ovens. 3, E. Williams. Pullet— 1, W. 
Ovens. 2, O. E. Oesswell. 3, D. Shaw. SPANISH.— Cockerel.-1, J. Powell. 3, S. 
L. Edwards. Pullet.—\ and 2, J. Powell. 3, H. Beldou COCHIN-CHINA.—jSiyf or 
Cinnamon.—Cockerel — 1, 0. Sidgwick. 2, J Scriven. 3, T. Stretch. Pullet— 1,0. 
Sidgwick. 2, It. P. Percival. Partridge.—Cockerel.— 1,1 .J. Wood. 2,R. P.Percival. 
3, C. Sidgwick. Pullet.—I, C. Sidgwick. 2 and 3, R. J. Wood. Any other variety.— 
Cockerel. —1, H. Beldon. 2, R. P. Percival. 3, J. Rawnsley. Pullet.—I, G. Furness. 
2, A. E. W. Darby. 3, R. It. Fowler & Uo. BRAHMA l’OOTRA.— Dark.—Cockerel. — 
1, Horace Lingwood. 2, R. P. I’ercival. Pullet.— 1 and 2, R. P. Percival. 3, R. 
Spencer. Light.—Cockerel.— 1 and 2, J. & W. Birch. 3, G. B. C. Breeze. Pullet.- I, 
A. Bigg. 2, j. & W. Birch. 3, G. B. C. Breeze. HAMBURGHS.— Gold-pencilled. — 
Cockerel. —1, H. Pickles. 2, J. Rawnsley. 3, C. Lockett. Pullet.— H. Beldon. 2, 
H. Pickles. 3, S. Fielding. POLISH.— Cockerel. —1. 2, and 3, J. Rawnsley. Pullet. 
—1 and 2, J. Rawnsley. FRENCH FOWL.- Creve-Cceur.—Cockerel.— 1, C. Sidgwick. 
8, L. Booth. Pullet— 1, E. Williams. 2, R. R. Fowler & Co. Roudan.—Cockerel.— 
I, S. W. Thomas. 2, R. It. Fowler & Co. 3. J. Summer. Pullet.— 1, E. Snell. 2, J. 
Till. 3, T. Yates. ANY OTHER VARIETY— Cockerel—1, G. Furness. 2, R. A. 
Boissier. Pullet.— 1, AY. E. Lowe. 2, It. H. Foster. 3, Rev. A. G. Brooke. 
