274 FANCIERS’ 
in this sort of dictation—which so manifestly points to cen- 
tralization and power in the hands of a few managers. And 
so, I repeat, it won't do! 
Upon the table before me I have letters from six promi- 
nent breeders, in different States—all members of this Amer- 
ican Poultry Association—lately received, in which my 
sentiments are urgently approved and seconded. The poul- 
try journals everywhere, through their correspondents from 
all directions, are criticising and eondemning this standard 
without stint, as you cannot fail to observe. Good men, 
sound advisers, competent judges, careful breeders, lively 
competitors, known friends to real improvement in fowl 
raising, ambitious amateurs, and accomplished fanciers, far. 
me 
and near, have entered. the lists in opposition to the accept- 
ance of this standard—and it is very clear that we must have 
‘Ca new deal’’ in this business. 
We do not claim your indorsement of these views, but we 
desire, through your columns, to say simply to those inter- 
ested in this matter, ‘‘Come, brethren, and let us reason 
together.’’ Let us inaugurate a new convention, as I have 
already suggested. Let all the poultry breeders, fanciers, 
and dealers, in the country, be invited to meet at some cen- 
tral point,—as Albany, Hartford, New York, Philadelphia, 
or elsewhere, during the coming summer—and at such a 
general meeting, which the members of the National Asso- 
ciation should attend, in common with the rest, let us fully 
and freely reconsider this subject. 
No more undue haste ; no further clanning; no display of 
favoritism ; no tame acquiescence in the poor ideas of former 
played-out standards; no partiality to men, or breeds, or 
crosses of fowls; no palpable omissions of known varieties 
in the lists; no secret star-chamber conferences; no charge 
of three dollars per head for permission to tall or yote in 
said convention; no Houdan ‘“‘curved-up fifth-toe” non- 
sense; no stupid requirement that Light Brahmas shall not 
have ‘‘middle toes feathered,’’ while Dark Brahmas’ toes 
must be so feathered; and, above all, no dictation, and no 
foisting upon us of ‘Instructions to Judges’’ at our shows, 
in this convention. 
On the contrary, let us meet where it may be most gener- 
ally convenient to the mass of American poultry men; where 
we can have a free, fair interchange of our opinions, knowl- 
edge, theories, and practices in breeding. Let us then and 
there organize, and choose committees of honorable and 
competent men, who will take into consideration, at their 
leisure, the subjects embodied in framing a good standard of 
excellence. Preserve from the old standards what is accept- 
able; through your committees add to this what is new and 
desirable, after a full discussion; take time to all this, well 
and advisedly ; receive from those who attend such conven- 
tion (or by mail from volunteers who do not) a moderate 
sum—say one dollar, each—to defray expenses of hall rent, 
advertising, posting, postage, and the printing of your 
standard; to every man so contributing his dollar, require 
your Secretary to furnish one copy of said printed standard, 
gratis ; to all breeders or others who want the book, after- 
wards supply them at not exceeding $20 per hundred. (This 
can be done at a profit for $15 per hundred, and at a less 
price per thousand.) 
By such means, at such a general convention, the errors 
of the past can be corrected, and an acceptable and popular 
criterion for judges and societies can be decided upon, that 
shall be worthy the title of an ‘“‘ American Standard of Ex- 
cellence ;’’? and which will be readily adopted by all United 

JOURNAL AND POULTRY EXCHANGE. 
States associations, because it will be the mature work of the 
American poultry fraternity at large, and not the result of 
the hurried labors of the convocated few, who offer us their 
unfinished, erroneous, dictatorial, universally unacceptable, 
and misnamed ‘‘ American ’’ standard. These are the purely 
unselfish views of Yours, in the cause, 
Gero. P. BuRNHAM. 
MELROSE, Mass., April 18, 1874. 

(For Fanciers’ Journal.) 
“THE REVISED STANDARD REVISED. 
I Ave purchased a copy of the revised “Standard,” 
which is sold at ‘not less’? than one dollar per copy. I - 
regret for the reputation of breeders that this unwise 
measure has been adopted. One dollar is but a dollar, yet 
it should purchase a well-bownd book of moderate size—and 
it does, of course, except of the ‘‘Standard”’ style. Why 
the ‘‘ Standard” is rated at one dollar I cannot comprehend. 
From my view of the matter, it ought to be sold at the 
lowest possible price, instead of the highest. The more the 
information it designs to afford is thoroughly disseminated, 
the greater the attention paid, and more careful breeding of 
poultry is the result. Jt is the guide-board to keep from going 
astray. If an honest farmer should now conclude to invest 
in an improved breed of poultry, in order to ascertain the 
standard of the kind he may purchase, and to become posted 
as to the requirements of the many pure breeds of poultry, 
he orders a copy of the ‘‘new revised edition of the Stand- 
ard,’? pays his ‘‘one dollar,’ and anxiously awaits the 
coming of the book (?). It arrives, and to his surprise and 
disappointment, he finds it smaller than Buist’s Almanac, 
Vick’s Catalogue, and other annual publications sent him 
gratis every season. by the publishers. He considers him- 
self cheated, and concludes it to be wisdom on his part to be 
content with his ‘“‘dunghills” lest he again’ becomes the 
victim of misplaced confidence. There are many who 
would not object to purchasing the ‘‘ Standard” if placed at. 
a reasonable price. Why lock up the contents with a copy- 
right? If it is not (as Mr. Burnham says) for monapoly, 
then it is to compel the people to ‘‘come down” with that 
dollar. Whichever it is, as Shakspeare says, ‘“There’s 
small choice in rotten apples.’’ There is evidently a screw 
loose somewhere, or else the American Poultry Association 
must be in training with the expectation of being elected to 
Congress. ‘Facts are stubborn things,” and if we are re- 
quired to pay a dollar for a book(?), we want something 
‘* standard’’ with considerable ‘‘ewcellence” in it—at least 
about a dollar’s werth. G. O. Brown. 
BROOKLANDVILLE, Mp, 

(For Fanciers’ Journal.) 
BUCKS COUNTY POULTRY ASSOCIATION. 
Jos. M. Wanpz, Esq. 
Dear Sir: At a meeting of the Executive Committee ot 
the Bucks County Poultry Association, held the 18th inst., 
a motion to adopt the new standard was lost by an over- 
whelming vote. Also, a motion to condemn the mew stand- 
ard, and that the adoption of the old standard by this So- 
ciety until a better one could be procured and adopted in 
open council by the fanciers and breeders of the United 
States, was, with but one or two dissenting voices, carried. 
Respectfully, T. H. Watton, 
Corresponding Secretary. 
DOYLESTOWN, Pa., April 18, 1874, . P "i 
