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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  August  7,  1902. 
Young  Judges  and  Their  Training. 
Of  course  it  is  very  self-evident  why  judges  and  their 
labours  are  much  in  our  mind  just  at  present.  We  have 
shows  on  every  side,  and  are  deluged  with  schedules  and 
prize  lists.  Every  little  community  thinks  it  must  have  an 
exhibition  of  some  sort  and  of  something ;  they  get  the 
entries  and  they  choose  the  judges.  Well,  there  is  a  little 
difficulty  here  sometimes.  It  wTill  not  do  to  have  a  local 
man  ;  ‘it  will  not  do  to  have,  or  rather  to  ask,  too  great  a 
man,  for  indeed  the  best  men  are  ahvays  spoken  for  mdnths 
beforehand.  The  secretaries  of  shows  could  give  lists  of 
those  men  capable  and  willing  to  act.  It  does  not  do  to 
have  a  man  too  young,  the  public  doubt  his  judgment ;  nor 
does  it  do  to  have  a  man  too  old,  he  gets  out  of  the  fashion, 
and  is  often  full  of  prejudice.  The  supply  has  to  be  kept 
up,  and  the  rising  men  need  to  be  educated  to  the  profession 
as  it  were.  Shall  we  say  a  thorough  knowledge  of  stock 
comes  first,  and  we  shall  not  make  a  mistake  if  we  put  a 
good  temper  second,  a  clear  head  that  will  arrive  at  a 
decision  quickly  and  not  be  turned  from  the  point  by  adverse 
criticism.  There  are  many  good  men  very  short  mettled, 
and  apt  to  be  a  little  dictatorial  with  their  colleagues.  They 
are  very  trying,  hence  the  need  for  good  temper.  “  A  soft 
answer  ” — we  know  the  rest.  There  is  also  another  saying 
about  “Second  thoughts  being  best”;  we  are  not  quite 
sure  that  this  applies  to  judging.  With  ourselves,  first 
impressions  are  oftenest  the  most  correct.  We  come  into 
the  ring  unprejudiced,  or  at  least  vre  try  to  do  so,  and  unless 
we  find  on  closer  examination  there  is  some  unsoundness, 
or  in  horses  wTant  of  manners,  we  generally  go  back  to  our 
first  love. 
Of  course,  in  judging  a  hunter  or  hack  class,  it  is  impos¬ 
sible  to  really  assess  a  horse’s  good  qualities  until  we  have 
had  our  leg  across  him.  If  he  only  goes  well  with  his  accus¬ 
tomed  rider  it  is  not  enough  ;  we  wish  to  see  how  he  will 
acquit  himself  with  a  stranger — that  is  the  test.  The  object 
of  his  being  at  the  show  is  his  possible  sale  in  the  near 
future,  and  his  value  depends  materially  on  his  manners 
and  good  carriage,  that  is,  of  course,  after  his  form  and  shape 
are  considered  to  be  right.  There  are  a  few  judges  who 
have  the  power  of  carrying  all  before  them,  that  is,  no  one 
ever  dreams  of  dissenting  from  their  opinion,  and  their 
fellow-judges,  the  exhibitor,  and  the  public  generally,  are 
fully  satisfied  with  all  their  awards. 
We  generally  find  that  the  cultivation  of  specialities  is 
carried  down  from  father  to  son.  The  old  herds,  the  old 
breeds,  the  old  studs,  and  in  cases  of  this  sort  the  son  is 
“at  school”  from  his  earliest  youth.  He  hears  the 
qualities  of  pedigree,  form,  and  quality  continually  dis¬ 
cussed.  He  knows  which  are  considered  the  pick  of  the 
stock,  which  find  a  ready  sale.  He  compares  the  home  pro¬ 
duce  with  what  he  sees  at  shows,  and  if  he  loves  his  pro¬ 
fession,  and  has  decent  abilities,  by  the  time  he  has  reached 
maturity  he  ought  to  be  a  good  judge  without  any  special 
making.  He  ought  to  assume  before  his  elders  a  modest 
demeanour  (whether  he  feels  it  or  not),  and  he  should  be 
able-,  clearly  and  concisely,  to  give  the  reasons  that  influence 
his  decisions.  It  is  no  use  saying  “  That  roan  heifer  is  a 
better  beast  than  the  red  and  white, and  have  no  other 
reason  to  give  than  “I  say  so,”  or  “Father  thinks  so.”  It 
it  not  necessary  or  desirable  that  the  public  should  know 
every  point  by  which  the  judge  arrives  at  his  final  award, 
but  he  should  be  able  to  tabulate  it  all  to  himself  if  need  be. 
Those  who  read  the  horticultural  part  of  this  paper  are 
quite  familiar  with  the  system  of  judging  by  points,  and  a 
fairer  one  cannot  exist,  and  if  the  public  would  be  at  the 
pains  of.  going  rather  more  into  detail  than  is  their  habit, 
we  should  hear  less  of  ill-considered  objection  to  and  adverse 
criticism  of  the  judges.  Let  discontented  horticultural 
exhibitors  take  this  to  heart  as  well  as  farmers.  It  is 
ignorant.,  self-opinionated  people  who  are  always  the  worst 
to  deal  with,  and  if  they  would  just  allow  themselves  to 
consider  the  pros  and  cons,  they  would  not  fall  into  the 
error  of  condemning  the  judges  unheard. 
We  have  just  come  across  a  good  “notion,”  to.  use  a 
Yankee  expression.  The  “  notion  ”  did  originate  on  the 
other  side  the  water,  and  has  been  adopted  with  good 
results  by  the  instructors  of  agricultural  youth  at  Wye, 
Kent.  These  lads  may  not  all  have  had  the  advantage  of 
fathers  whose  whole  and  sole  aim  was  to  produce,  say,  Al 
Shorthorns,  and  consequently  they  need  what  may  be 
termed  an  A  B  C  guide  to  the  art  of  judging.  We  think 
the  plan  might  well  be  extended  beyond  the  college 
precincts.  The  young  beginner  is  given  a  card  thus 
arranged  :  — The  animal  taken  is  a  perfect  cow  of  the  Short¬ 
horn  breed ;  her  good  points  are  described  clearly  arid 
briefly,  and  a  maximum  number  of  marks  assigned  to  each 
amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  100.  There  is  a  column  for 
marks  which  give  the  pupil’s  estimate,  and  there  is  also  a 
column  for  the  instructor  to  place  his  record.  Doubtless  at 
first  the  two  columns  will  not  agree,  but  the  lad  will  find 
out  where  his  estimate  and  that  of  the  professor  differs.  It 
is  really  an  object  lesson  of  most  practical  value,  and  reduces 
the  art  of  judging  to  an  exact  science.  These  cards  act  as 
sort  of  “  leading  strings,”  and,  as  the  judgment  matures, 
can,  of  course,  be  altogether  done  away  with.  We  notice 
the  highest  number  of  marks  for  any  particular  feature 
obtainable  by  a  good  cow  is  twenty  for  the  udder.  She  can 
also  earn  two  sets  of  ten,  one  set  for  form  and  quality,  and 
another  ten  for  temperament  and  colour. 
The  card  before  us  mentions  one  or  two  undesirable 
points  which  would  materially  spoil  the  total  of  marks  did 
they  exist  in  the  animal  before  the  judges.  "VV  e  should 
think  it  highly  probable  that  this  card  system  will  be  ex¬ 
tended  till  it  embraces  all  classes  of  stock  on  the  farm. 
Competent  men  would  soon  arrange  a  set,  and  we  believe 
they  would  be  found  of  great  service  to  other  than  the 
young  pupils  or  students  at  the  agricultural  college.  VVe 
believe  in  Shropshire  the  young  fanners  have  competitions 
of  this  nature.  Their  knowledge  is  increased,  and  then 
wits  sharpened.  .  „  , 
“  Punch  ”  is  again  on  our  track.  The  never-satisnea- 
farmer  joke  is  a  very  old  one,  and  although  we  aie  tuec 
of  it,  it  goes  to  prove  what  we  believe  to  be  strictly  true, 
that  the  average  of  the  hay  crop  is  very  high  and  the  quality 
first-rate.  For  the  last  few  years  there  has  been  great 
“  shortage  ”  both  in  hay  and  straw  ;  this  year  we  look  tor 
bumper  crops,  and  it  is  only  the  farmer  whose  stock  has 
been  on  short  commons,  and  whose  fold-yards  have  been 
absolutely  denuded  of  bedding,  can  tell  the  relief  and 
comfort  there  is  in  a  full  stackyard.  We  will  hazard  no 
opinion  about  the  yield  of  corn,  that  is  always  am  unknown 
quantity  ;  but  we  can  see  and  fully  appreciate  the  wealth  ot 
straw  that  promises  great  things  in  every  field. 
Work  on  the  Home  Farm. 
Heavy  rain,  far  more  than  is  expressed  by  the  word  shower, 
has  fallen  almost  daily;  it  has  suited  the  root  crops  exactly, 
especially  Potatoes,  which  can  never  have  too  much  surtace 
moisture  in  July.  Swedes  present  such  an  appearance  as  no  living 
farmer  can  remember,  and  if  this  does  not  prove  a  record  year 
for  roots  we  are  much  deceived.  The  rain  has  laid  some  of  the 
cornfields,  but  not  so  extensively  as  we  anticipated,  which  may 
mean  that  the  crops  were  not  so  heavy  as  they  appeared  ;  the 
real  fact  we  apprehend  to  be  that  the  straw,  though  long,  is 
fairly  sturdy,  and  being  very  thick  on  the  ground  is  not  readily 
storm  broken.  '  , 
Little  hay  is  left  out  about  here  ;  but  a  visit  to  a  neighbouring 
county  last  week  revealed  not  only  much  hay,  but  some  Clover 
still  in  the  fields.  On  inquiry,  we  found  that  spring  keeping  had 
been  so  scarce,  and  the  mowing  Clover  and  meadow’s  had  been 
grazed  so  far  into  the  month  of  May  that  the  hay  crop  was 
necessarily  a  late  one.  These  late  crops  aie  good,  and  fax 
heavier  than  those  laid  in  earlier  and  now  safely  in  stack ;  but 
they  are  still  in  the  fields,  and  their  ultimate  value  very 
problematical.  It  is  the  old  story— “  You  cannot  eat  your  cake 
and  have  it.”  In  this  case  there  may  be  two  cakes,  but  the 
second,  though  big,  may  be  very  tasteless. 
The  showery  weather  is  delaying  the  corn  harvest,  which  will 
hardly  commence  before  August  20.  Wheat  is  well  set  in  the 
ear,  there  being  few  deficient  grains.  Barley,  too,  is  well  set; 
but  we  are  sorry  to  find' a  large  number  of  dead,  or  dying,  heads 
in  some  fields.  We  have  carefully  examined  a  number  of  stems, 
and  have  found  no  direct  evidence  of  its  presence,  but  we  think 
that  the  Hessian  fly  is  really  responsible  for  the  death  of  some 
portion  of  the  plants.  This  insect  attack  appears  likely  to  dis¬ 
count  what  might' have  been  a  record  crop. 
