THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, November 16, 1858. 
bridge and Sons. In them you will find many hives described, and you 
must choose for yourself. The flowers of the Turnip give exet llent bee- 
pasturage. 
“ Fertilizers ” [G. C.).—The price of Mr. Cuthbert Johnson’s volume 
on “Fertilizers” i3 eight shillings. It is published by Itidgway, Piccadilly. 
Name of Fruit (.4 Subscriber, Great Baddow). —Tour Pear is llerl 
Doyenne. 
Names of Ferns !A. Z .).— 1. Scolopendrium vultjare, or common Hart's 
Tongue. 2. Front the young frond sent, we believe it to be Polystichum 
angulare, Soft Prickly Shield Fern. 3. Asplenium adiantum-niyrum, or 
Black Spleen wort. 4. Polypodia in nilgai e, the common Polypody. 5 is 
too diminutive to be certain what it may prove to be; but we should say 
it is a small seedling of the Lastrcea family. 
Names of Plants (S’. C. Ti'.).—Your plant is the Iris feetidissima, or 
Stinking Flag, or Stinking Ghuldon, or Gladwvn, an indigenous plant, 
frequently found in thickets and hedge banks, where its scarlet seeds, dis¬ 
played by the opening capsules, make a gay appearance in the autumn 
months. [J. TV. Sr. Ann). —Your portions of plants are as follows :— 
The light-flowered Heath is a white variety of the Erica tetralix alba. 
The other purple-flowered kind is a rarer plant. We believe this to be 
Mackie’s Heath, Erica hfackieana. The third plant is the Leilum 
pnlustre , or Labrador Tea. 
POULTRY SHOWS. 
Nqvf.mder 29th and 30th, December 1st and 2nd. Birmingham. Sec., 
Mr. J. Morgan. Entries dose November 1st. 
November 30 h and December 1st. Glasgow. Sec., Mr. It. M'Cowan 
Entries close November 17th. 
December 7th and 8th. North Durham, Secs., R. C. Coulson, J. T. 
Duncan, and T. Wethcrell. Entries close November 22nd. 
Decembf.r 8th. Wiltshire. Sec., F. W. Phillips, Devizes. Entries 
close November 30th. 
December 17th and 18th. Halifax Fancy Pigeon Show. Sec., Mr. 
H. Holdsworth, 57, Woolshops, Halifax. Entries close the 20th of 
N ovembi-r. 
December 29th and 30th. Burnley and East Lancashire. Sec., Angus 
Sutherland. Entries close December lOtli. 
January 3rd, 1859. Kirkcaldy Poultry and Fancy Bird Show. 
January 8th, 10th, 11th, and 12th, 1S59. Crystal Palace (Winter 
Show). See., W. Houghton. 
January 20th and 21st, 1859. Liverpool. 
February 3rd and 4th, 1859. Preston and North Lancashire. 
Secs. R. Tcebay, and H. Oakey. 
February 9th and 10th, 1859. Ulverstone. Sec., Tlios. Robinson. 
February 16th and 17th, 1859. Poulton-le-Fylde. Sec., J. Butler. 
N.B.— Secretaries will oblige us by sending early copies of their lists. 
POINTS REQUIRED IN EXHIBITION J?OWLS. 
It is always a satisfaction to know tliat painstaking is appre¬ 
ciated, and that we are well considered as the medium of poultry 
information. We arc always disposed to meet tile wishes of our 
subscribers, and. therefore, to-day, although mucli of this present 
paper must of necessity be tedious, as a thrice told tale, we print 
it in answer to the following : — 
“ To the Editor. —Your paper of last week on the diet of 
fowls is very good ; but can you not give us another, telling us 
what to choose", and what to avoid in selecting for exhibition. 
Please to do it fully, and do not refer us to some page or other in 
a past volume. I have been several times on the threshold of 
success, at Birmingham, but farther progress was prevented by 
some little oversight. Help me to figure in the prize-list.”—X. 
Spanish. —Upright comb in the code, no falling over, even at 
tlie back part. Perfectly white faces in cock and bens. Blue 
legs. Plumage black throughout, no white spots on the hens. 
Hen’s combs falling over one side of the face. Do not be content 
with the inspection of one side, but look well at both. It is 
seldom they are equally good. Choose the faces as deep and as 
smooth as yon can. Any red is fatal. Choose your birds as 
large as possible, but recollect that is not the chief point. 
Dorkings. —Choose as large as possible, with accurately de¬ 
veloped live claws on each foot. Weight is here essential, hut it 
must 1)3 good, firm flesh,—not fat. This has been frequently 
mentioned of late, but it is necessary, as this breed puts on fat 
easily. They may be single or double combed, but all must match. 
The same may be said of colour. It is a defect for the cock’s 
comb to fall over. Any colour is eligible for competition, and 
although the hens must be alike, yet the rule is not so imperative 
as in many other classes. A striking difference is of course fatal. 
Choose your birds with sharp, intelligent heads, deep breasts, and 
broad, flat backs. Avoid faulty toes and swollen feet. 
Cochin Chinas. ~ Large; well feathered on the legs, full of fluff 
behind ; shnrp heads ; yellow legs. Positive match in colour. 
All the combs quite straight and upright. This is most im¬ 
perative, and more Cochin prizes are lost by the presence of a 
crooked combed hen, than by any other fault. Matching is here 
very important: the different shades of buff, cinnamon, and lemon, 
should be well matched. Select birds as heavy as you can, pro¬ 
vided they possess the other requisites. In the Grouse and Par¬ 
tridge, be careful that the cock has a perfectly black breast, and 
that the hens match, having as little tendency to buff on the 
breast as may be. In the White Cochins, be sure all the legs are 
yellow. Avoid crooked combs, scantily feathered legs, and mixed 
colours. 
Brahma Pootra. —You may here have either light or dark, pea 
or single combed ; but here again they must match in every 
particular. Dark birds should be pencilled all over: the light 
should have white bodies, with dark tails, striped hackles, and 
black flights. All should have well-feathered legs, and in these 
weight is very important. 
Hie next classes are among those where feather is the greatest 
point: — 
Polands {Black with White Tups). —Perfectly black bodies, 
and white tops as near as may be. There is a black front to all. 
I)o not be induced to shave or cut this off, with a view to better 
the birds, or to increase their prospect of success. It would have 
an opposite effect. Their tops should be as large as possible, but 
they should be close, not loose feathered and falling about. 
Golden Polands should be well spangled all over the body. 
The cock should have a laced and barred wing. His hackle and 
saddle should be striped. His breast well spangled, and his tail 
coverts well marked witli rich golden colour. The top-knots of 
the hens should be very large and compact, composed of yellow 
feathers, edged with black. 
Silver Polands should be spangled all over ; and, like the Golden, 
the breasts of all should be spangled ; and the cock should have a 
barred and laced wing. In these birds the tails are more scru¬ 
tinized than in any other birds of the tribe. The feathers of all 
should be clear white, with a black spangle, or tip, at the end. 
There are two great tilings to observe in the two last breeds. 
The cooks must have neither combs nor gills, and the hens must 
be straight backed. The last caution is necessary, as deformity is 
common among them. All Polands should have blue legs. 
Pencilled Hamlurghs. — Well-formed and full combs, seated 
firmly on the head, spiked behind, and turning upwards. The 
pencilling clearly defined all over the body, and rather dark than 
light, but on no account running into blotches of colour. The 
hackles should he white or yellow, and as clear from spots as 
possible. Deaf ear as white as snow, and round. Tail pencilled 
to the tips, and the tail coverts closely pencilled the whole length 
of the feather. Legs taper and leaden blue. The tails of the 
cocks should be black in the ground colour; but in each every 
feather should be edged with silver, or gold, as the breed may be. 
Black, silver, or golden tails, are alike faults. 
Spangled Harnburghs must hawe the same combs and deaf 
ears as their Pencilled brethren ; and in the Silver the tails should 
be clear, and tipped, or spangled, as we have described in Silver 
Polands. The combs of the Spangled are generally larger than 
the Pencilled ; but they may be too large, and if they become 
deformities they pay the penalty of such vagaries. In both breeds, 
the bodies and breasts of the hens must be spangled all over, and 
the wings laced and barred. This latter point should be more 
marked in the cocks than in the hens. The hackles of the hens 
must not be clear, but mixed with bluclt. The cocks must have 
spangled breasts : they should have blue legs, The under feather 
of the Golden should be buff. Neither Pencilled nor Spangled 
cocks are marked like the hens, but have more of the plain ground 
colour. The Gold and Silver-pencilled birds are almost white 
and golden ; but the Spangled require more colour in breast, 
hackle, and saddle : the Golden have more than the Silver. 
In all the Bantams, choose them as small as you can. In the 
Sebriglits, look for accurate lacing, clear hen tails, tipped with 
black, and a strutting gait. See that the combs are straight. In 
the Black and White, choose tails with long sickle feathers. 
They cannot be too long. See that legs and combs match, and 
select vain, strutting birds. 
In Game Bantams, look for small, close-feathered Game fowls. 
Here you want the smartness of the larger bird, not the vanity 
of the Bantam. They should handle hard and compact, and the 
hens should accurately match the cocks in colour. 
At last we come to positive weight. It is the great quality in 
