November 18, 1880. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 471 
Many others beyond the prize birds are worthy of their notices. 
35 (Lord Winterton) is large ; 45 (Beachey), good but white in ears ; 
48 (Pilkington), deep in body ; 57 (Lingwood), gigantic, with five toes 
to match his size. Pullets numbered twenty-five. The cup went to 
a rich-coloured bird good all round ; second large with very white 
feet and pretty comb, but a little light in colour ; third we thought 
a mistake, she has very sooty feet and is not striking in any point ; 
fourth a good square pullet, which we preferred ; fifth a fair bird 
with big and ugly spurs ; 73 (Mrs. Hind) about the largest bird in 
the class, with good white feet, a little rusty in colour or she must 
have won ; 81 (Warren) has nice white feet ; 84 (Cresswell) very fine 
but a little light in colour; 92 (Taylor) a large handsome pullet. 
In Silver-Greys—Whites—the Judge has gone in much for colour, 
and less than usual for size and form. The cup Silver-Grey cock is a 
really good and silvery bird ; second good in colour and fair in other 
points ; third small and poor in comb, but silvery also. The first hen 
is very fair, square, and in good condition ; second a big bird with an 
ugly comb ; third has been a fine hen, but her day is over. The cup 
cockerel is not large, but well shaped and good in every point, and 
well deserves his place; second is as silvery, but ticked in breast; 
third is sprightly, but poor and small. Several immense birds are 
highly commended only, doubtless because they fail in purity of 
hackle and back colouring. The first pullet is very large and pretty ; 
second and third both good and well chosen. Cuckoos are looking 
up, and a great improvement on past years. The first pair are young, 
of a good dark colour and rose-combed ; second pale in colour, and 
we do not like the cock’s wry rose comb ; third are single-combed, 
very well marked, as are generally single-combed Cuckoos, but the 
cock is too white in tail. The White Dorking judging is somewhat 
of a mystery ; we long thought that the cup card had got on to the 
wrong pen, but are informed that this is not so. The cup cockerel is 
very white, very small and pretty chicken ; second a noble old bird ; 
third a fair cockerel. The first hen is very white, and that is all we 
can say; the second a much better bird. The first Darks in the £5 
selling class are a magnificent pair. 
Cochins. —Buff cocks a fair class of eleven. The winner clearly 
ahead in size but rather coarse in comb ; his hocks nicely turned, and 
ample foot feather except on the middle toe. His colour rather too 
much in the tricolor type for our taste ; however, he was well ahead 
of the rest of the class. Second a nice even-coloured one, but smaller 
and rather flat in back. Third heavily hocked and wings slipped, 
good in shape and carriage, but showing too much streak in saddle 
hackles. 200 (Hind), highly commended, a pretty lemon, small in size 
and heavily hocked, but to our mind better than third. Buffi hens.— 
A good class of eighteen. First and winner of the cup for cock or 
hen a beautiful light shade of buff, round as a ball and well fluffed 
out. If she have a fault it is in carrying her tail rather too high. 
Second rather darker in colour and a trifle coarse in head, also slightly 
too high in tail. Third large in size, but with one defective eye, and 
rather straight in back. All three winners were hocked. 220 (Brown), 
highly commended, good in shape and carriage of tail. 224 (Blood- 
worth) very highly commended, a grand cushion but not quite clear 
in colour. Buff cockerels.—A good class of twenty-eight. The winner, 
which also takes the Buff chicken cup, is an evenly-coloured lemon 
with a rather mis-shapen comb and rather heavy hocks ; he wants 
solidity a little, but is otherwise of good shape. Second an even- 
coloured light Buff with nicely rounded hocks, pressing very closely 
on the winner. Third a lemon again, but not quite even in colour 
and wings rather loose, comb ugly at back. Fourth a fair Buff. 
Most of the noticed birds were good. 245 (Proctor) very highly 
commended, struck us as being a particularly good one but for the 
large size and defective carriage of his wings. Buff pullets numbered 
thirty-nine, and was by far the best class of Buffs. First was a 
beauty in all points except comb, which was rather too large and 
weak, and a slightly twisted hackle. We should, we think, have gone 
here for the cup. Second hocked, and not quite so even in colour, 
which was a dark shade of buff. Third a light buff, even in colour 
but hocked again, and if anything rather too close in plumage and 
narrow in saddle. Fourth rather darker in colour, good in shape and 
feather. 2G8 (Davidson) very highly commended, a very shapely pullet 
but a little broken in colour. 279 (Causer) good in shape and colour 
but small, worth a card. 291 (Long) very highly commended, very 
shapely also. Partridge cocks numbered twelve, and no less than 
ten of these were deservedly noticed. As a class they were much 
superior to the old Buffs. First and cup for Partridges very brilliant 
in colour and in the pink of condition, but failing in saddle. Second 
more massive, and will surpass the winner later on unless the white in 
his tail developes too much. Third very massive, but only half out of 
his moult. Partridge hens.—Another very good class, numbering 
fifteen. Almost every one of the ten noticed birds was really first- 
rate. The Judge seemed to us, however, to go in rather too much for 
the old type to the exclusion of the more clearly pencilled modern 
style. 308 (R. J. Wood) highly commended, we thought the best bird 
in the class, as she had a wonderful breast, and was of fine size and 
shape ; she had, however, a severe cold in one eye, which perhaps 
threw her out. Partridge cockerels (twenty-one) were not as a class 
up to the quality of the old birds ; many were undersized and far too 
coarse in comb. The winner was good in shape and colour, but only 
moderate in size and coarse in comb. Second and third moderate in 
quality. 333 (Morris), very highly commended, struck us as the best 
Cochin in the class, but his very dusty neck hackle doubtless threw 
him out. Partridge pullets (twenty-nine) were as a class of good 
average quality, but contained nothing very startling. Here again 
we could not quite agree with the Judge. Second would have been our 
choice for winner ; her only faults in our eyes were a few white 
feathers in feet and hocks. First was not so distinct in markings and 
inferior in shape to second. Third might also with advantage have 
made way for 302 (R. J. Wood) v.h.c. good in size, shape, and marking. 
White cocks numbered only five (with Mr. Darby’s pen empty), and 
were not good at that. First good in colour and shape, but rather 
too much tail; second and third either dirty or yellow in hackle. 
White hens (nine). First and cup for Whites a really grand hen, 
deservedly placed at the top ; second also a good one, but not equal 
to the winner—indeed, we should have placed the third above her. 
380 (Darby) was second here, and first at Birmingham last year 
as a pullet. She is not through moult and has to grow, but will 
make her mark yet as a hen. White cockerels were only eight in 
number. Mr. Darby’s Dairy Show bird here came to the front again. 
He is wonderfully free from yellow, and is indeed a good bird all 
round. Second good in colour but small; third larger but rather 
yellow. White pullets (ten) were again headed by the Dairy winner, 
a wonderfully perfect pullet. She walked away from second and 
third, though neither of these were inferior. Black or Langshan 
cocks were five in number, four being Cochins and one a Langshan. 
We wonder that any Langshan breeder entered in such classes. All 
the prizes went to Cochins, Mr. Cowell being highly commended in 
each class with Langshans. First very large and good in all points 
except comb, which was not quite straight. Second, also, only failed 
in comb, which was too large. Third smaller, but very glossy and fine 
in head. Hens were eleven in number. First was a large finely shaped 
hen with a good gloss. Second not nearly so large, but attractive 
in style. Third was quite out of sorts, and should have given way to 
Mr. Cowell’s Langshan hen. Cockerels (eleven). The winner took 
his place and the cup by size and condition ; his shape was hardly 
correct, as he had a round back and carried himself too erect for a 
Cochin. Second and third were of a more correct Cochin type, but 
much smaller. 423 (Lady Gwydyr) highly commended, the pick of 
the class but for his coarse comb and wattles. Pullets (fourteen). 
Not much to choose between the three winners, first being best in 
saddle but rather short of foot feather for her hocks. Second a little 
coarse in comb and dull in colour. Third in brilliant condition and 
good in all points except cushion, which is hardly high enough. The 
five-guinea Cochin selling class contained some good birds at the 
money, but nothing startling. 
Brahmas .—The Dark Brahmas this year were judged by Mr. Raines, 
the first time, we think, that he has officiated at the Palace ; and 
though there were of course the usual per-centage of grumblers, we 
think, as a whole, the judging was satisfactory, the best birds in the 
classes generally taking the prizes, though the order in which they 
were placed might in some cases have been altered with advantage. 
In old cocks size seems to have been considered a good deal, and 
the cup went to a very large bird, but his want of shape made him 
look ungainly. Second was another large bird, and we rather pre¬ 
ferred the same exhibitor’s highly commended (482), which was better 
in most points except size. Third was the best-shaped bird of the 
four, and certainly deserved his position. Fourth another large 
awkward-looking bird. The class as a whole was good, though in¬ 
ferior to what we have seen in past years ; most had bad coarse 
heads. 407 (Comyns), v.h.c. was one of the few that had good combs. 
470 might have been noticed, though not so good as Mr. Lingwood 
generally shows. The first old Dark Brahma hen was a magnificent 
bird; with the exception of a slightly brownish cast on the wings, 
she is nearly perfect, and the condition she was shown in was a great 
credit to her owner ; she should certainly have had the cup. Second 
was a grand hen, but rather too Cochiny in shape. Third rather too 
high on leg, and fails rather in marking towards the tail. Fourth a 
well-feathered bird, but otherwise there was not much to choose 
between her and her neighbour. 487 (Taylor) c. Cockerels were a 
grand class of nearly fifty entries. Mr. Lingwood is to be congra¬ 
tulated on a success as unparalleled as it is deserved, for four better 
birds were never sent out from one yard; indeed, we might almost 
say from any yard. They were all grand in shape and width, and 
good in comb—three points in which we have noticed a general 
falling-off this season, a slight difference in colour and size making 
the difference between them. Fifth a pretty bird, lacking size. Sixth 
wanting in leg feathers, and altogether hardly so good as the same 
exhibitor’s 533, commended. Seventh a large bird, also rather short 
of feather. 540, very highly commended (Kendrick), and 559, un¬ 
noticed (Gwydyr), both good birds above the average. Dark Brahma 
pullets numbered about forty. First a well-known bird, looking 
rather overdone and out of condition, but deserving her position. 
Second a good pullet, nice shape and leg feathers, but rather hazy 
in marking on both wings and cushion. Third large but rather stilty, 
and disfigured by inside leg feathers. Fourth a fine large pullet, but 
also rather too high on the leg. Fifth a good Dark with heavy 
n. a "king. Sixth not equal to what Mr. Percival generally shows, as she 
was rather mossy in her marking, though a pretty pullet otherwise. 
The class was altogether a good one, and we should think most diffi¬ 
cult to judge, as, though there was nothing of a very high character 
except the winners, there were a large number of birds above the 
average quality of show specimens. Old Light Brahma cocks were 
a small but good class. The judging was hardly satisfactory, many 
