109 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, May 19,1857. 
THE P@UI.TRf CHRONICLE. 
w — — nr~— 1 ■ — Oianp—BMM W 1 I IMIJ Mara— 
POULTRY SHOWS. 
June 3rd, 4th, and 5th. Batii and West of England. Sec., Mr. 
John Kingsbury, 10, Haonmet Street, Taunton. Entries close the 1st 
of May. 
June ‘26th. Exeter. Sec., T. W. Gray, Esq., Queen Street, Exeter. 
July 8th, 9th, and 10th, 1857. Leamington. Sec., Thomas Grove. 
July 9th. Prescot. Sec., J. F. Ollard. 
July 28th, 29th, and 30th. Sheffield South Yorkshire, and 
North Derbyshire. Sec., William Henry Dawson, Fig Tree 
Lane, Sheffield. 
August 8th, 10th, 11th, and 12th. Crystal Palace. Sec., W. 
Houghton. 
August 19. Bridlington. Sec., Mr. Thomas Cape. 
September 2nd. Dewsbury. Sec., Harrison Brooke, Esq. 
September 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th. Gloucester. Sec., Mr. H. Churchill, 
King’s Head Hotel. 
October 1st and 2nd. Worcester. 
November 30th, and December 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Birmingham. 
Sec., John Morgan. Entries close the 2nd of November. 
December 16th and 17th. Nottinghamshire. Entries close No¬ 
vember 18th. Hon. Sec., Mr. R. Hawksley, jun., Southwell. 
January 9th, 11th, 12th, and 13th, 1858. Crystal Palace. 
January 19th, 20th, 21st, and 22nd, 1858. Nottingham Central. 
Sec., Mr. Etherington, jun., Notintone Place, Sneinton, near Notting¬ 
ham. 
N.B.— Secretaries will oblige us by sending early copies of their lists. 
GENERAL COLLECTION PREMIUMS. 
Among the many subjects that now press heavily on 
the attention of poultry amateurs, in reference to the 
general rules and appointments of our public exhibitions, 
there are few, if any, more deserving of their peculiar 
solicitude than the determination of the most advisable 
plans to be invariably adopted for awarding the very valuable 
plate prizes now so generally offered at our principal meet¬ 
ings “ for the best general collection.” As already hinted 
by myself in The Cottage Gardener of Feb. 10th in this 
present year, it is obvious that these much-coveted premiums 
may be either beneficial or, on the contrary, detrimental 
to the future interests of a Poultry Show, precisely as they 
may bear convincing and outward evidence of the rectitude 
and impartiality of the principle on which they are deter¬ 
mined. The time of the year now prohibits the continuance of 
poultry competition; all of us are busily engaged in the 
hope of rearing distinguished specimens in the coming 
contests that will shortly ensue; and, as your space allotted 
to poultry matters is thus less replete with reports of pass¬ 
ing exhibitions, surely no more appropriate season to settle 
this knotty point can offer itself than the present one. Few 
can deny that there is scarcely any subject possessing more 
vital interest than the one at issue. It does not exclusively 
affect the interests of the wealthy amateur only, but equally 
that of the humble individual who, perchance, by great 
personal exertions, and even by considerable self-denial, 
exhibits in one single pen the entire effort of many months’ 
previous care and constant solicitude. His has been the 
product of successful amateur “ breeding,” whilst his colossal 
opponent relies principally for position on a well-filled purse, 
combined with constant determination to “ claim ” all rivals 
that stand between him and continual prize-taking. In all 
such cases the actually intrinsic value of the plate itself, 
although very considerable, is not the object most covetable 
to this “ Triton among the minnows.” The sale of eggs 
for incubation and ready disposal of surplus stock are the re¬ 
munerative objects of his more especial regard, and none but 
those well conversant with the subject would accredit the 
final pecuniary aggregate of such sales. 
It has been urged that the small amateur who keeps but 
a variety or two has even increased chances of success over 
his more wealthy rival; that his attention and means being 
undivided, he can manage more carefully the lew under his 
especial charge, and thus bring them into the wide field 
of competition with better hopes of final success. This 
I statement is quite feasible so far as exposed ; but the facts 
are only half told. The peculiar position of the competitors 
is quite opposed. The amateur of really limited capital 
most probably breeds all his fowls; the exhibitor for 
general exhibition cups, on the contrary, always proves 
himself a constant buyer of such pens as defeat his prospects. 
! They are no incubus on his finances if unsold, even if their 
position is finally snatched from them by future more 
successful poultry. A really noted prize-taker’s position 
once attained, all such birds are easily convertible into 
money, whilst no purchaser would presume to expect that 
an amateur would knowingly dispose of those specimens 
that would with certitude rule the roast on all future 
occasions. I admit that liberal outlay ought to reap a 
corresponding reward; but still I feel convinced that the 
emulation of what are termed the “little men” is much 
damped when they anticipate a trial of strength with those 
notorious for walking away with premiums wholesale. 
Hence their tendency to limit the amount of entries, which, 
on the contrary, should always be one most desirable con¬ 
sideration with Committees if it can be generally attained. 
It is the many that suit their interests, not the few. I am 
myself confident that the eventual perpetuity of any exhibi¬ 
tion depends very greatly, if not altogether, on the wide dis¬ 
semination of the premiums throughout the competitors; for 
if any one man, or any small body of individuals, are con¬ 
tinually winning the great bulk of the premiums, the less 
successful will naturally avoid a contest so unequal. 
I also maintain that all varieties of poultry, be they what 
they may , if perfect specimens of their kind, ought to compete 
on terms of the most exact equality for these premiums ; for 
they among their natural fellows maintain their well-earned 
superiority. I contend they should, at least, be permitted 
to enjoy an immunity from discarded position in those 
contests, therefore, where all are invited to enter the lists, 
as contesting without any reference to breed or variety. My 
conviction is this—let all and every amateur keep just what 
description of fowls his own fancy dictates. If they are really 
superior, purely-bred birds of their class let them stand 
on terms of the most direct equality with those of all other 
amateurs,, be they what they may; and if Poultry Committees 
think well to proffer such varieties of rewards pray let them 
enjoy them as “their right,” without prejudice or incum¬ 
brance through the individual caprice of the arbitrator or 
arbitrators. This was the reason of my first suggesting the 
principle of marks as the rule to finally award prizes for 
“ best yeneral collections.” It has naturally its opponents, 
principally among those parties who have made excessive 
outlay in the original purchase of stock that may be the 
ruling “ fancy ” of the day, or those tradesmen who have 
realised no mean amount of profit from the sale of such. 
However disputed, it is notorious that salesmen obtain in¬ 
credible advantages by “ puffing into notoriety ” some j 
'particular description of stock, at least for a time; then 
the “ fashion changes,” and a substitute is brought out to 
suit the same occult purposes. The more difficult the 
attainment of the description of poultry, the greater amount 
of profit do they return. 
The differences between prices of purchase and sale 
few would imagine but most amateurs who have tested 
it when in communication with parties who follow it as 
a daily occupation. The commoner varieties of poultry 
are not coveted as the medium for the realisation of ex¬ 
treme profits, for the simple reason, “they will not pay” 
the dealer for their sustenance during the time, if at all 
protracted, they remain “unsold” on his hands. This 
induces a disposition to discountenance them in favour of 
those kinds which yield better and more lucrative returns in 
such cases as when they may compete together, even where 
the despised fowls are really praiseworthy for egg production 
or table purposes, their only objection being that they are 
admittedly somewhat general. But the very fact of being 
numerous undeniably proves that the winning fowls musthave 
attained unusual excellence in their respective classes ; for 
it cannot be denied that where the competition is the most 
extended the probabilities are that the successful fowls have 
certainly possessed a very much closer approach to per¬ 
fection than where the test of superiority was confined 
to a class containing only a few pens. If, then, they 
are excellent of their kind they ought, certainly, to 
be permitted to enjoy an equality of opportunity when 
competing for cups for general collections, and I am not 
at all prepared to admit that because a Poultry Judge 
has a predilection for any especial variety, another kind, 
equally truly bred, should be discarded as comparatively 
unworthy of exalted position, because caprice on his part 
dictates against them, whilst the credit of winning against 
the many is incomparably more difficult, and consequently 
