October 2. 
COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, 
13 
purposes of the poultry-heepev, and the celebrity that the 
most northern counties, witli Lancashire and Derhyshire, 
liave since so justly acquired, fully testify the fallacy of such 
an apprehension. 
Dorkings have, unquestionably, prospered under the in¬ 
fluences of exhibitions. Many of our local shows, formerly 
more notoriously deficient in this class than in any other, 
are now found to contain birds to whom the premiums of 
j Birmingham would have fallen some two or three years 
back. 
In one or two instances, however, strains may be spoken 
of, which even then left so little to be desired, that no very 
I decided improvement in th.eir case could either have been 
' anticipated, or, in fact, has been realised. But these ever 
stood out alone from the ranks of their competitors, in very 
marked contrast to the close running of the present can¬ 
didates for distinction. If something has been gained in 
point of weight, the feather, both in respect of colour and 
condition of Captain Hornby’s birds, has never, probabljq 
been exceeded; and hence, from his known system of 
management, a useful lesson may be learnt, to the effect 
that Dorkings require every advantage in point of run; and 
to attempt keeping them under unfavourable circumstances, 
in this respect, must entail certain disappointment. 
With the close of the present year, the period ends for 
which the tenns on which Captain Hornby’s were sold pro¬ 
hibited his appearance as an exhibitor in those classes 
where his greatest successes were achieved. As there is 
reason to believe that he has not been less careful of his 
present stock during this interval, his return will be anxiously 
expected. 
Nor let it be thought that mere condition of feather 
matters little where the birds ai’e not intended for ex¬ 
hibition, since a heallhy condition of the plumage is always 
a sui’e indication of a vigorous constitution, and of those 
other points requisite for a satisfactory appearance on the 
poulterer’s board. 
If we regard the Dorkings as, pnr excellence, “ the table 
fowl,” the importance that has been laid on its possession 
of the fifth claw seems to have been just; inasmuch as, 
although very many excellent specimens are constantly 
shown without it, a very large projjortion of those that have 
combined the features of the highest merit exhibit this 
peculiarity in its best defined form. This remark may be 
thought unneeded; but it should be borne in mind, that 
there are not a few persons who have endeavoured to place 
the four-clawed Sussex fowl on a par with what it commonly 
called the pure-bred coloured Dorking. The number of 
rose-combed birds does not appear to have increased, and 
since some of the heaviest pens in the early days of poultry 
shows belonged to this class, and nothing could bo alleged 
against them, in either form or feather, their comparative 
disappearance among the vast increase of the single-combs 
is accounted for, 
JF/iile ■TJoi'/cinqs have not advanced in any one point 
beyond the position occupied by them some years back. 
Many, in fact, who then kept them, have now wisely profited 
by the manifest superioiity of the coloured birds, and, in 
consequence, have changed their stock for the latter. No 
further evidence, moreover, appears to have been adduced 
as to the title of the white birds to be considered as the 
original type of the Dorking family. Single combs, it 
should bo observed, are now wisely permitted to contend in 
this class on an equal footing with those of the rose form. 
The weak point in both the white and coloured varieties 
still remains unchanged, viz., their delicacy of constitution, 
evidenced by the mortality among the chicken. 
In respect of Spanish, their rapid advance from the 
average standard of a period some two or three years back 
is at once perceptible, not less in the yards of their owners 
than in the exhibition pen. Little dilliculty here formerly 
attended the labours of the judge; for the contest was 
usually limited to the two or three pons that even at our 
best shows appeared free from any material blemish; but 
now', his most diligent scrutiny, and most patient investi¬ 
gation, are usually imperatively demanded. Thus the Spanish 
classes, as a wdiolo, may be described as infinitely superior 
to those of preceding years ; but, probably, it will be found 
that their popularity is owing ratlier to their estimation as 
a fancy fowl, than to any strictly economical merits. The 
red-faced birds of this family, commonly known as 
“ Minorcas,” excel them as layers, especially in producing 
eggs w'ith harder shells, an admitted desideratum in the 
white-faced Spanish fowl; while the more compact shape of 
the former w'ould be another point in its favour with the 
cock. 
The small proportion oftreally first-rate chicken, produced 
in even the best-selected j’ards, has been one powerful 
reason for sustaining the high figure at which good speci¬ 
mens are priced; and since it w'ould seem that their appeai’- 
ance, rather than their real economical value, commends 
them to the juiblic taste, they fortunately meet with pur¬ 
chasers who w'ould seldom invest their money on them if 
mere utilitarian considerations were to influence the se¬ 
lection. In Spanish, as in Dorkings, many of the most 
successful yards are greatly indebted to the old Knowslev 
blood.—W. 
{To he continued.) 
PEDIGREE OF MRS. FORD’S DUCKS. 
In reading your paper, I saw a letter froTU Mrs. Ford, 
relating to the pedigree of her Aylesbury Ducks. Little as 
I should wish to controvert the statement of a lady, I must j 
say, the inference to be drawn from it is, that either Mr. I 
Davies, that prince of the poultry world, or herself, bred her j 
prize birds. I must express my belief that they were bred j 
by neither; but most likely by myself, or Mr. Weston. At I 
all events, I think I am not far wrong in stating, that most 
of the first-prize pens shown at any place of importance 
during the past year, were either bred or immediately de¬ 
scended from birds of Mr. Weston’s or my own. The old 
Latin motto—“ Palmam qui merui ferat,’’ impels me thus 
to write to you. 
lam quite sure Mr.Davies can spare some ofhis well-earned 
laurels to decorate the brows of the Aylesbury breeders; 
and wdiilst writing this, I may be allowed to sa}', w’hoever 
bred Mrs. Ford’s ducks, or Mr. Davies’s ducks, wherever I 
have seen them, I never saw anything shown in more pei’fect 
or beautiful condition than they have invariably been. 
I trust, however, that at our forthcoming show', in No¬ 
vember, which will be open to the kingdom, we may have 
the pleasure of meeting the first poultry-keepers in Eng¬ 
land, and we shall then see w'ho is the best.—J. Iv. Fom.ER, 
Prebendal Farm, Ayleshunj, 
BURY POULTRY EXHIBITION. 
Before entering into particulai’s respecting this Ex¬ 
hibition, w'e beg to draw the attention of our numerous 
poultry friends to a feature connected with show's in this 
locality, that, at first sight, w'ill appear altogether paradox¬ 
ical. If a Poultry Show is held in IManchester, where 
access thereto is, as it were, at the very doors of the visitors, 
the attendance invariably is of so limited a character, that 
very coiRsiderable loss ensues to its projectors; if, contra- 
wise, the meeting is held in some spot available by railway, 
and the return ticket does not entail more than, perhaps, a 
couple of shillings additional expenses, the ground is as 
certainly filled to overflowing. This has again and again 
proved to be the result; and the only explanation it is 
possible to assign for this apparently capricious whim in 
the public generally, appears to arise entirely from the 
strong natural impulse of all individirals for an occasional 
“ out,” from the close confinement the trade of Manchester 
(more particularly) of necessity entails. Be this as it may, 
certain it is, that the meeting of Friday, September the 21st, 
yielded a harvest from the entrance monies far more than I 
was previously anticipated ; and w-e can also state, with con- ; 
fidence, that the visitors embraced all classes in the commu- ■ 
nity. The day proved as fine as could be W'ished for; and } 
from the fact that a Floricultural Siffciety also held their an¬ 
nual meeting immediately adjoining the Exhibition field for , 
the Poultry, the influx of ladies and children bore no 
mean proportion to the aggregate of visitors, wdiilst their 
gaiety of attire enlivened the whole proceeding. From thus 
holding their meetings on the same day, though the socie- ' 
