July 31. 
COUNTRY GENTLEMAN'S COMPANION. 
317 
I found myself the happy possessor of (so called) a Gander 
and three Geese. They grew and prospered: were again 
examined by a competent judge, who confirmed the previous 
award as to sex; and at a large show, in January, 1855 
(being about eight months old), competed in the class 
“ Gander and Two Geese,” witli old birds, and were awarded 
first prize by two competent judges, Messrs. Baily and 
Hewitt. They were claimed, to my sorrow; and I heard no 
more of them till the following June, when a complaint was 
made “ that they were Ganders." I at once said, “ That 
though too long a time had been allowed to elapse before 
any complaint was made, I was willing either to allow their 
present owner to select from my best Goslings of 1855, or 
to leave the decision as to what I ought to do in the matter, 
to the committee, or the judges. In short, I would do 
whatever a gentleman should do under the circumstances.” 
I made this offer through one of the Committee, from whom 
I have not since heard; but a few days ago I received a 
lawyer’s letter, to say that, unless I immediately sent him 
even a lai’ger sum of money than I had received from the 
committee, legal proceedings would be adopted. My 
answer is, “ That he knows I can have no fear of such a 
threat; that I am in the hands of the committee, and will 
act by their decision, without any regard to any threat of 
legal proceedings.” 
I make no comment on this matter beyond this, that 
great allowance must be made for the disappointment of a 
purchaser, who has seen the spring pass without any pro¬ 
ceeds from his highly-priced (and prized) prize-pen ; and I 
do not think either that I am to blame in the matter, for 1 
did not breed those Goslings, but bought them; and I j 
cannot think that I have any claim on my north-country 
farmer friend, whose answer to my complaint would be, 
“ Why did you not fyid fault before?” 
I believe everybody will allow the difficulty of judging the 
sex of young Geese. The best judges are at fault. After 
their second spring there can be no mistake about it. But 
I would suggest that if, as with poultry, there were two 
classes for Geese, “For a Gander and two Geese more 
than a year old,” and “ For three Goslings under a year 
old,” any claimant of a Gosling pen would be aware of the 
risk he ran in buying them. 
But (putting my own case on one side) I would ask you 
whether a rule, naming a time after which no complaint 
about claimed birds could be made, would not be a fair 
thing to all parties ? 
This would more particularly attach to young Geese, 
about the sexes of which I have known several errors made 
in my own yard as well as in those of others. As it is very j 
desirable to prevent wrangles and heart-burnings about ■ 
poultry shows, I trust that you will give this letter a place j 
in your journal, and encourage the adoption of my sug- ! 
gestiou, or any other which you or others may think better j 
calculated to gain the end I have in view—that of ensuring 
friendly feeling in, and the avoidance of disputes from, every ( 
poultry show. Gallus. 
[We quite agree with our correspondent in thinking that 
the prizes for Goslings should be for pens of them regard¬ 
less of sex. This would remove any ground for complaint 
on the part of disappointed purchasers, and save exhibitors 
from the annoyance to which “ Gallus” has been subjected. 
This would be a much safer course than attempting to limit 
the time after which no complaint about being claimed at 
exhibitions shall be permitted.— Ed. C. G.] 
GRANT THORBURN, 
The New York Seedsman. 
It was somewhere about the year 1833 or 1831, that we 
met, in Edinburgh, a wee wee man, about four feet ten inches 
high, clothed in a very long garments, the skirts of which 
reached to his ancles, and with a very low-crowned and very 
broad-brimmed hat upon his head. His feet, like the brim 
of his hat, were out of all proportion to his body, for they 
were very large and very long; but beneath that broad brim i 
there shone a beaming countenance, full of intelligence, j 
benignity, and playful humour. It needed not to have his I 
name announced, for the world had been made familiar with 
his portrait through Fraser's Magazine, and we had no diffi¬ 
culty iu at once recognising the living image of Grant 
Thorburn. How different the circumstances under which 
he trod his native soil then, to what they were forty years 
before ! He was born at a little village near Dalkeith, 
N. B., and was brought up to the trade of a nailer; but 
on the breaking out of the first French Revolution, he 
joined the ranks of that party in this country which was 
known as “ the Friends of the People,” some of whom, in 
their endeavours for that liberty which we in the present 
day now enjoy, terminated their lives on the scaflold, while 
many suffered expatriation. This “ wee wee man” was one 
of those who struck terror into the British Government, and 
he had his choice, along with others, either to expatriate 
himself, or to have a free passage granted him at the expense 
of the government. He chose the former, and in 17 l J4 set 
sail for New York. The account of his arrival we extract 
from an interesting work entitled“ Flowers from the Garden 
of Lawrie Todd,” Mr. Thorburn being the original from 
whom Galt took his character of Lawrie Todd; and we 
rejoice to say he still lives in the enjoyment of excellent 
health, at the ripe old age of eiglity-three. 
“ When we sailed from Scotland the mountains were 
covered with snow; when we dropped anchor opposite the 
old Fly Market, foot of Maiden Lane, June 10, 1704, the 
small ferry-boats were passing, filled to the gunwale with 
baskets of cherries. I thought I had dropped into a New 
World, indeed. It-was on a Monday morning, 10 a.m. ; the 
sun shone bright. A passenger ship was a rare occurrence 
at that time, and as soon as we dropped anchor, the ship 
was surrounded with small boats, filled with people inquir¬ 
ing for letters, friends, and servants. I asked one of the 
gentlemen if there were any nail-makers in New York. 
“‘No,’ said he; ‘they have just got up a machine for 
cutting nails from iron hoops.’ 
“ Here was a death-blow to my hopes at once. Clothing 
excepted, my stock in trade consisted only of my nail- 
hammer in my clothes-chest, and an English sixpence in 
my pocket. The captain and crew went on shore in the 
boat, as likewise did all the passengers, I only excepted; and 
not having any money to spend, I thought I might as well 
stay where I was. On the passage, having nothing where¬ 
with to kill time, I was in the habit of assisting the steward, 
and thereby came in for a portion of cabin fare ; thus I lived 
as well by paying six guineas in the steerage, as those who 
paid fifty iu the cabin. The captain returned on board, 
bringing with him a fine piece of beef, which he ordered to 
be cooked for dinner. While I sat on the deck, helping to 
get ready the vegetables, a boat came alongside, from which 
three gentlemen stepped on board. One asked for a servant- 
girl, another for a ploughman, and the third if there were 
any nail-makers on board. This, to me, was like life from 
the dead. I readily answered, ‘ I am a nail-maker, Sir.’ 
“ I sat flat on the deck, with a large dish between my 
knees, peeling potatoes. 
“ ‘ What,’ said he, looking down, ‘ can you make nails ? ’ 
“ I was piqued at this question, and answered briskly, ‘ I 
will wager sixpence (all my stock) that I would make more 
nails ih a day than any man in the country.’ 
“ The speaker, and the manner, set the gentleman in a roar 
of laughter. However, he gave me his card, and I went to 
work for him in twenty-four hours thereafter. 
“ At this time the City Hotel was building, in Broadway. 
That was the first house covered with slates in America; 
shingles and tiles were the only covering prior to this. 
When they were ready to put on the slates, they could not 
find nails, nor any one who could make them, for nails were 
not in fashion, and American nailers knew not bow to make 
slate nails : they came to me, and I made them. I now 
thought I was of some consequence in the world, and that 
I might make myself useful in this wooden country. About 
twenty-five years thereafter, in passing the hotel, I saw them 
removing the slates to put on a new roof. I went up and 
gathered a handful of my nails, and now have them in my 
house. Next November (1845), it will be fifty years since 
those nails were made. At this time, also, the steeple of 
of St. Paul’s Chapel was being erected. 
“ The first night I slept on shore was at No. 8, Dutch-street, 
in an old frame building with a shingle roof; the weather 
