THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION.— September 2,1850. 411 
which they carry somewhat raised; the head, too, is often 
thrown back with a tremulous motion, like tho Fantails; 
the middle wing feather is usually double ; their plumage is 
generally blue-pied, and they breed very well. 
The large Runts are but little cultivated in England, and, 
consequently, are less known. 
The four principal varieties are the Leghorn, the Roman, 
the Spanish, and the Norwegian Runts. The first is, to 
quote an old authority, a stately, large Pigeon, long legged, 
very broad chested, short backed, and carries its tail raised. 
It is a close-feathered and firm-fleshed bird. The neck is 
long and bent; the eye lies hollow in the head, and has a 
thin cere round it; the beak is very short, the upper man¬ 
dible bending slightly over the under, and being surmounted 
with a small wattle. The Spanish Runts are very differently 
formed birds from the preceding; they are the longest in 
body and wings of any Pigeons I have seen ; they are short 
necked, short legged, and loose feathered. The best I have 
seen of this breed were at St. Oilier, France, where they 
were called Tigre Espagnol. They were dark, black mottled ; 
and so long were their pinion feathers that they rose with 
difficulty from the ground. 
Roman Runts resemble the Leghorn, but have larger 
beaks and more wattle; they are not so short backed, and 
do not carry their tails so much elevated. 
But the largest I ever remember seeing were some white 
feather-footed Pigeons from Belgium, which, I believe, were 
called Norwegians. 
From the scarcity of good Runts, they are much prized, 
and, from the same cause, they are frequently over-fed, 
which, combined with the want of fresh blood, causes them 
often to prove bad breeders and nurses. On the other hand, 
if they were carefully bred, by matching birds not related, 
and allowed plenty of exercise, and less stimulating food, I 
have little doubt but they would soon become a great acqui¬ 
sition to our poultry establishments.—B. P. Brest. 
TRIMMING POULTRY. 
I frequently read in your Poultry Chronicle of the 
system of trimming, tail-tying, shaving, <fcc., which is carried 
on among exhibitors at our Poultry Shows, which I am 
pleased to see are sometimes discovered, and made known 
to amateurs who are not enabled to see for themselves. I 
am convinced, if things go on much longer as they have 
been, no honest exhibitor will send birds for competition. 
There is a system of fraud and deception also carried on 
among some of our large breeders of Dpcks, who have long 
walked over the heads of those who have shown their birds 
fairly and without doctoring, and wblcb, as yet, i twk, hoe 
j not been detected—I mean the scraping of the Duck’s bills ! 
\ A well-known exhibitor and successful prize-taker, who 
| s hall be nameless, has for some time been fortunate enough 
1 to carry on this system without detection, making a bill of a 
very dark colour, which would be condemned at first sight, 
into one of tho required colour, and thus insuring either a 
first or second prize. To every exhibitor I would say, Watch 
well the pens of birds which receive the prizes, examine 
them minutely, and I have no doubt, if deceptions are 
practised, some “lynx-eyed” visitor will discover them.— 
Argus. 
POULTRY EXHIBITION OF THE NOTTINGHAM 
CENTRAL ASSOCIATION. 
This is to take place at Nottingham on the 14th and 15tli 
of January, 1857, and its prize-list, just out, is liberal and 
attractive. We advise all exhibitors to apply for copies, and 
to support the Show. Besides offering various cups and 
medals, as well as high money prizes, it contains many 
novelties, and among others thirty -six prizes for Canaries. 
These prizes vary from £2 to 10s., and those who are not 
“ well read up ” in this by-path of Natural History will be 
surprised to find so many varieties of this chamber songster. 
There are Yellow Belgiums, Buff Belgiums, Jonque London 
Fancies, Mealy London Fancies, Spangled Jonque Lizards, 
Spangled Mealy Lizards, Yellow Variegated Belgiums, Buff 
Variegated Belgiums, Jonque Goldfinch Mules, Jonque 
Linnet Mules, and Mealy Linnet Mules. 
ODDS AND ENDS FROM MY NOTE BOOK. 
Turning Eggs not required during Incubation. —In 
some experiments on artificial hatching, performed chiefly 
for the purpose of obtaining chickens for dissection, a 
number of eggs were placed in a small home-made incubator, 
and were permitted to remain unturned and undisturbed 
until the 10th or 17th day. The chick was in each of the 
fertilised eggs perfectly developed, and the progress of 
hatching did not seem at all interfered with by the eggs not 
having been turned. The eggs of the New Zealand bird, 
the Talle Galla, are hatched by the bird depositing them in 
a hotbed of fermenting leaves scraped together for that 
purpose. They do not appear to be moved during incubation ; 
in fact, they are so fragile that the slightest force breaks the 
shell; and it has, therefore, hitherto been found impracticable 
to hatch the eggs under hens. 
These facts seem to indicate the error of the commonly 
received opinion that it is requisite that eggs of a sitting 
hen should be turned either by the movements of the 
mother or otherwise. 
Length of Time Fowls can Live without Food or ' 
Drink.— Redi, in some cruel experiments, which it is to be j 
hoped will not be imitated in this country, found that, of a 
number of starved fowls deprived of water, none lived be¬ 
yond the ninth day, whereas one indulged with water lived 
upwards of twenty days without food.—W. B. Tegetmeier. 
FIFTY SILVER CUPS! 
PRESTON AND NORTH LANCASHIRE POULTRY 
SHOW FOR 1857. 
This is to take place at Preston on the 21st and 22nd of 
January next, and its prize-list is such as never before was 
offered for competition to poultry exhibitors. There are 
Fifty Silver Cups. One Cup as first prize, and £l as the 
second prize for each variety of fowl, and eight Cups, varying 
in value from ten to five guineas, for various specified objects. 
The Pigeon prizes are £1 and 10s. for each variety. 
ROYAL NORTH LANC AC ’" lJv11 ' PolJ FTRY 
EXHIBITION. 
This was held on Thursday, August 28th, in a field ad- 
joinin'* the Bridge Inm at reawortham, near Preston, Lan¬ 
cashire. The we^ner, very unfortunately, was the most un- 
propitious could be imagined ; the rain fell from day- 
m-olk until the time for closing the Exhibition, without the 
lapse of a single instant, in absolutely drenching torrents ; 
hence the attendance of visitors was comparatively limited, 
although the Show contained many classes of unusual ex¬ 
cellence. Among these we may instance the Spanish as 
particularly worthy of attention ; indeed, it was the opinion 
of all amateurs who saw it, that the cockerel in the first 
prize Spanish chicken pen was by far the best young bird 
that has been shown this season. There was a great deal 
of merit about the prize White Dorkings, hut the Grey ones 
were not nearly so good as wo anticipated. The Aylesbury 
Ducks were excellent, hut the Rouens so very indifferent, 
that tho Judge, Mr. Edward Hewitt, of Sparkbrook, Bir¬ 
mingham, withheld all the prizes from this variety. The 
young poultry classes were by far the best the Show afforded, 
tho adults being mostly in deepest moult, which, being com¬ 
bined with the fact of the pens being erected in tho open 
field, rendered the fowls very uncomfortable, and alike pre¬ 
vented both the visitors and the Judge himself from forming 
the same positive opinion of their comparative excellence, 
that would have been easily attainable had they been ar¬ 
ranged within a tent. Perhaps another season this contin¬ 
gency against stormy weather will be wisely provided for. 
Under circumstances so adverse, no committee could pos¬ 
sibly exert themselves more than was done on this occasion, 
and all most unanimously deplored that unfortunate weather 
alone should have entailed so deep a loss on this long- 
established society. 
White, Speckled, oa Grey Dorking (Single Comb).—Prize, Daniel 
Parsons, Cuerden, Preston. Commended,—Richard Eastwood, Swin- 
shawe House, near Rawtenstall. 
