March 10. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENEE. 
447 
praise of wliich T have heard something said of late, and of 
which I shonld 1)6 glad to hear more. 
^Vllile on the subject of varieties, allow me to add my 
protest against what are called “ Jiosc-eomhed Uoi-kinys." I 
believe that these are all mongrels, and as such I deprecate 
their introdiiction into the priiiedist. 
As the first, I believe, of your correspondents who pointed 
out the numerous objections to dealers heinij appointed to 
the office of jiidije at our poultry shows, allow me thank you 
for your observations upon this, to all exhibitors, most 
important subject. It is perfectly true, as you say, that 
“ if the office is to be filled by competent persons, public 
confidence must be accorded to them;” but, let mo add, 
that the converse of tlie proposition holds good, and that 
if public coulidence is asked for, not only must the office 
be tilled by persons who are competent to perforin its duties, 
but by those of whose fairness and impartiality no one cun 
reusonabtii entertain suspicion. Gentlemen of character and 
station; men, indeed, of every grade, from the peer to the 
peasant, are turning their attention to this interesting 
subject; many of them are sparing no expense in their 
endeavours to improve the ditlerent varieties of our domestic 
poultry. They buy, more or less, from dealers, and they 
look to the exhibition, local or otherwise, as it may be, for 
the means of comparing their specimens with those of their 
brother amateurs, and of securing the unprejudiced opinion 
of disinterested judges. Is it not natural that they should 
feel disappointed, to use no harsher term, when they lliid 
that the judge is the very dealer of whom their competitor 
bought his birds, and declared, ol course, by the said 
dealer, to be “the best in the world;” or the stock from 
which he bred them. This has been my case, and it may be 
the fate of any exhibitor, wherever such a practice is allowed 
to prevail. Healers are not permitted to exhibit; the 
reasons against their being allowed to act as judges are 
infinitely stronger, and oi-e well stated by your corres¬ 
pondent, “ N.,” in a recent number. I have heard it con¬ 
tended, that every one who sells a bird is a dealer. But 
every one knows that a “ dealer ” is one who buys to sell 
again; although I readily admit, that the objection applies, 
in a lesser degree, to those who have bred for sale. And I 
know several, among whom is Mr. Sturgeon, who have 
declined to till the office of judge on this very ground, that 
they would not subject themselves, and the office of judge, 
even to a suspicion. 
Allow me to congi-atulate you, who have done so much, 
as all will acknowledge, to promote and extend the etibrts 
of amateurs in this dh'ection, on the increased and in¬ 
creasing number of our exhibitions of poultry. As a fancier, 
of many years’ standing, and who can speak of such matters 
before they became “fashionable,” I look upon this as a 
far more convincing proof of the rapid extension of our 
favourite pursuit than the great prices which good specimens 
have lately realised. I, ho\veyer, entirely concur in your 
observation, that the sub-division ot districts should not be 
too muiute. Jfor this reason, I hail the establishment, 
which I had the pleasure to announce to you a lew days 
ago, of an exhibition of Fat-Stock and Poultry by the Great 
Yorkshu'e Agricultural Society, to be held at Leeds, in 
December, as a step in all respects in the right direction. 
I trust the managers of this show will steer clear of all 
objectionable arrangements in the outset; a course, allow 
me to add, much easier to be adopited than that ot giving 
up a practice once adopted, by which, however prejudicial, 
some must necessarily have benefited. The matter, how¬ 
ever, appears to me to have been taken up by the Society in 
question in good earnest, and altogether in a proper spirit. 
I observe that they have provided against the unfair practice 
of allowing old and young birds to compete in the same 
classes; and that they have omitted several restrictions, of 
which the benefit was at least questionable, while the 
mischief of them was proved by their constant evasion. 
To this, as to many other subjects, the sage advice of 
Lord Denman is api^lioable—“ Rules of this sort are not 
required for good men, while bad ones are almost certain 
to discover the means of evading them.” The selling 
clause is also absent from the published prine-list. If, as 
you state, upon the authority of the Midland Counties 
Herald, to have been the case at Birmingham, an exhibitor 
is to be allowed to “buy in” his bird.s, in clear’ violation of 
the rule that a sale must take place if the pi-ice named be 
offered, I would at once include that rule in the category 
just referred to, of those involving more of mischief than 
of good. But my notion is, that all purposes would be 
answered by allowing those who might think fit to mark 
their pens “ Not for sale,” and those who miglit desire to 
dispose of their specimens, to name a price at which, if 
offered, they should be bound to sell. There is a new rule 
at Birmingliam which, with all submission, appears to me 
extremely absurd, that, namely, wliich restricts a subsoi’iber 
to half-a-dozen pens. If it had required an additional 
subscription for all above a certain number, to meet ex- 
pences, not a word would have been said; but, as it is, it 
is restrictive of the very object of the exhibition, with the 
additional objection of having been glaringly evaded. I 
am happy to see, from the Leeds programme, that tlie 
birds arc to be received up to Monday night, and judged on 
Tuesday morning. A few extra hands will easily arrange 
the pens in time for the judges to commence by daylight. 
A division of their labour will shorten the time required 
by these latter for the performance of their duties, with the 
additional advantage of submitting each class to the judge 
best acquainted with its peculiar merits; and I am' fully 
confident, with your correspondent, “ N.,” “ that plenty of 
competent men in each class could easily be found, if 
dealers were excluded for, witli them, depend upon it, few 
gentlemen will act. There is, however, one point which I 
will take the liberty of suggesting, before it is too late, to 
the managers of the proposed Yorkshire show, and to others 
similarly situated. It is to close by two or three o’clock- 
on the I’riday, so as to ensure the arrival at home of all 
the stock on the Saturday, by sending off such as have a 
long distance to travel by Friday night’s train. 1 agree 
with those of your correspondents who think three days 
sufficient during which to shut up valuable birds in their 
pens; but, with good care, I do not think one additional 
day of very great importance ; and, considering the expense 
necessai’ily inciu-red by a society in such an exhibition, 
properly conducted, within doors, when the days are short, 
I submit to both parties that it would be a fair comju’omise 
to receive them on the Monday and send them otf on the 
Friday night. At all events, a step has been made in the 
right direction, and if the Society will, as they still may, 
concede the few hours on the Friday evening, I hope 
exhibitors will be satisfied at least to let the experiment be 
fairly tried, for, in that case it will, beyond doulit, be a 
great point gained. —Cochin. 
r. S.—Just as I was dispatching the above to you, I 
received a circular enclosing a paper, to which I have, 
without hesitation, added my name, pledging those who 
sign not to exhibit where dealers are judges. It is intended 
for publication, and, I understand, has already been signed 
by thirty to forty amateurs. Many more names will, I 
doubt not, be attached, and I trust it may have the effect of 
putting an end to a practice indefensible in principle, and 
objectionable to so many exhibitors. 
ON SEEDIdNG PELARGONIUYI GROWING. 
He must needs be a bold man who ventures to find fault 
with, or even to question any of the communications of your 
talented contributor, Mr. Appleby. Yet, as it is by rubbing 
our ideas and experiences well together that our practical 
knowledge is improved, I will venture, even at the risk of 
being thought presumptuous, to offer a suggestion on raising 
seedling Geraniums, somewhat opposed to the directions 
given in the article on that subject in your number of the 
17th inst. 
In the article alluded to it is said, that the seed, when 
saved, should be laid by, and sowed the following February, 
in a house or frame heated to ,'15'^ or 00°, and then, by 
keeping the plants growing, several may flower that season, 
and the rest the following year. This may be very well for 
those who are fortunate enough to possess all “ appliances 
and means to boot,” though even by such, I suspect some 
time, and much valuable space, may be saved, by sowing, 
as I do, dh-ectly the seed is ripe; but to the small fry of 
amateurs, who, like myself, only possess a modicum of a 
greenhouse (in which they endeavoiu' to grow “ omnibus 
