24G 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, January 0, 1857. 
celling in points, certainly A 1 in constitution, and the 
greatest proof I can adduce is, that out of some sixty birds 
fast year sent by me to Germany, and elsewhere out of 
England, of this breed, not one death has occurred, although 
warned of the unpromising nature of the undertaking. 
Not having many birds in my confined yard, and intending 
to show at Gloucester (where I got a second prize) some 
Silver-spangled, they were sent to me a few days previously, 
and to my surprise, although chickens , they laid an egg every 
morning, and after their return, whicli was a most trying 
time of it (for, by some neglect of the railway men, they 
were kept in a horse-box all night, and not sent up to my 
house until five o’clock on the following evening, “thus 
having two whole days and a night in an open basket”), 
notwithstanding all this, they commenced laying in a few 
days, and are as good a brace of little hens as I ever owned 
in my life. 
No, no, these don’t go to walk again. 
A word about the Gold-spangles. “ E, B." has my breed I 
suspect, and he certainly must know all about them. I 
have hens laying now, “ so I am informed." Before many 
days they shall be in my pens, and if they conduct them¬ 
selves as well as the Silver-spangled in confinement, no 
more Cochins at home for me; they do not ingratiate them¬ 
selves with the ladies, and I do not wonder at it—they 
certainly are very unsylph-like. As for myself, I rather like 
them, and find them very useful as mothers in spring. One 
thing my somewhat extensive experience has taught me— 
that a cross between a Hamburgh and no matter what fowl 
is sure to produce good layers. Look at the Black Ham- 
burghs. No birds I ever owned laid so long or so well. I 
gave some splendid birds away because there is no place for 
them in a show, and I am ambitious. The White Hamburghs 
are equally good, but they have no place. Let me strongly 
advise all keepers of Hamburghs to look out for constitution, 
and not to breed in and in above once or twice. Will any 
one believe me when I assert as a truth that a friend of 
mine has bred in and in so long, that his Spangles are re¬ 
duced to mere Bantams without tails? —W. H., Exeter. 
it is from this property they derive their name. There are 
several varieties of this class or breed, and the oldest 
variety to which I have been able to trace them seems to be 
the large old German Powter, now nearly, if not quite 
extinct, and described by Gottlob Neumeister, Weimar, 
1837. He says, “ Of the true pure race, perfectly white, 
with smooth heads, a few only are now to be found in 
our neighbourhood, but are very rare. Their length twenty- 
two inches, and their breadth with outstretched wings three 
feet six inches.” I am somewhat inclined to regard these 
as the origin of all the varieties of Powters or Croppers. 
Variety 2.—THE COMMON CONTINENTAL 
POWTER. 
THE CACKLE OF AN OLD HEN. 
As I am an aged hen, and seen many a Poultry Show, and 
come to my years of discretion, I shall not occupy my own 
or anybody’s time in making a long cackle of it, 'outcome 
at once to my question of complaint, viz., “ Why are we. hens 
so grossly, if not wholly , overlooked by Judges in their 
awards of prizes?” I repeat my cackle, “Why are the 
merits of a pen, consisting of a cock and three or two liens, 
determined by Judges chiefly, if not solely, by the single 
merit of the cock ? ” 
Do not pretend to deny it—dispute not my cackle. If 
Judges can affirm that the hens are considered, I tell them, 
and appeal to their consciences, that it is only when they are 
themselves in a fix, and cannot tell which cock is the better ! 
Then, indeed, and then only, will an obstinate Judge, bent on 
carrying his point, make a handle of us hens, and say, “Well, 
but look at the hens; this cock has the better hens with 
him.” So that, at the most, we are degraded to become a 
mere stop-gap. I repeat that this is the only consideration 
we receive—m ere tools to relieve a fix in judging. 
This monstrous absurdity is yearly increasing, and ’tis 
high time it were stayed. ’Tis as inconsistent as it is 
absurd and unjust; for these very Judges will give as much 
consideration to a goose as to a gander—to a duck as to a 
drake.—to a hen as to a cock pigeon, and so on. But here I 
will leave the matter. The injustice is self-evident. I ruffle 
my feathers, then, and demand—yea, demand—consideration 
from the Judges, or they shall again pretty soon hear The 
Cackle of an Old Hen, IInil. 
PIGEONS. 
Class No 2. — POWTERS (Columba gutturosa). 
French. German. 
Pigeon Grosse Gorge. Die Kroi>f Taube. 
The class of Powters or Croppers are distinguishable 
from all other domestic Pigeons by their power of distending 
or blowing out their throats with air in a large degree, and 
The common Powter Pigeon, as found in Germany, 
Belgium, and France, is a large bird, with smooth head, 
rather short beak, a large crop or throat, which he can blow 
out and distend with air at pleasure, but which he more 
frequently allows to hang bag-fashion about his breast; he 
lias long wings, but short, clean legs, and, consequently, does 
not carry himself very erect. They are of all colours and 
markings, but, perhaps, more frequently blue, with white 
flights, and some white about the crop or head. MM. Boitard 
and Corbie, the French writers, enumerate nineteen varieties 
of the Pigeons Grosses Gorges ou Boulaus, which varieties, 
however, consist chiefly in colour and markings. They also 
enumerate two varieties of Pigeons Lillois and two of 
Pigeons Cavaliers, which seem only to have the power of 
partially distending their throats. 
The Germans, also, have several varieties of Kropf 
Tauben, of various colours and markings, some being whole- 
coloured, pied, splashed, or baldhead marked, some being 
feathered-footed, and a few turned crowned. The most I 
remarkable is one that has the habit of rising in the air, > 
distending its crop, and allowing itself to descend somewhat j 
parachute fashion, in performing which exploit they some- | 
times endanger their lives. The majority of these Con- I 
tinental Powters are large, square-built birds, and are not 
generally very productive. 
CRYSTAL PALACE. 
The Grand Exhibition of Poultry, Pigeons, and Rabbits, 
to be held on the 10th, 12th, 13th, and 14th January, pro- ' 
raises to be the most attractive Exhibition of its class that 
has ever taken place. 1270 pens of the finest specimens in 
the country are entered for competition. The whole of 
the south wing and the tower adjoining will be exclusively 
devoted to the Exhibition. The preparations are upon the 
most liberal scale, and all the first fanciers and breeders 
of Poultry, Pigeons, and Rabbits will be found among the 
Exhibitors. The following is a summary of the number of 
pens entered — !J4 of Spanish, 149 Dorking, 120 Cochin- 
China, 37 Brahma Pootra, 197 Game Fowl, 150 Hamburgh, | 
