Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1903-08-28

remains tor Us but to reconcile
apparent Inconsistencies, collect
and present the facts in the best
order possible.
In the first place let US ask
what is the object of poultry
shows? Is it to crafty the van
ity of few wealthy fanciers in
or near large cities, who proba-
bly, have sacrificed vigor, consti-
tuition and some Of the other pre-
requisites of good bird for the
delicate tracery of feather in
the wing or neck? Is it that Mr..
Jones may see his name herald
ed over the land in all the poul-
try journals as having taken
first on cock; first and second on
pen? Or that Mr.. Smith, the
statesman from Watkins Greek,
may indulge the proud satisfac-
ton of having developed a vari-
ETY. of "Long Shanks" with five
toes and which he bonn bastically
calls "Pente-Dactylia?" Nay,
verify, The real object of the
poultry show is to stimulate and
encourage the rank and file of
those engaged 10 the business by
an exhibition of the best speci-
mems Of the various breeds and
showing how nearly perfection it
is possible for intelligent effort
to attain. And here the real
question presents itself. "How
shall it be determined which are
the best specimens" l hesita-
tingly saw, by the score card.
Judgment by comparison has
some merit and would be all
right if every man engaged in
the poultry business attended
every show and had his best
birds present. But for the great
majority those who can not at
tend the show themselves, nor
send an exhibit, the comparison
method is unreal, intangible and
unsatisfactory. 1t leaves the av-
erage breeder, who did not at
tend the show, with his birds,
nothing by which to Judge or
estimate their value in the show
ring.
What does man living in Ar
kansas know about his own birds
when he reads that Mr.. Smith
took first premium at Boston
lover Mr.. Jones in the ratio of "a
to 90 unless he could see Mr..
Jones birds and compare them
with his own? To get the de-
sired information he must make
a trip to Ohio where Mr.. Jones
lives, carry his birds, and he
and Mr.. Jones have a show,
This, too, upon the assumption
that Smith and Jones had not
only their best birds in the Bos-
ton show, but the best in the
country. All this delay, expense
and impracticability, under the
com parison with or before any
man could know just where his
birds stood in the scale. The
score card stands in the same
relation to poultry judging as
does money as a circulating me-
dunn to the numerical world.
1t simply facilitates exchange,
which reduced to it's last analy-
sis is all there is in business.
Simply an exchange of commod-
tiles. Suppose A has d horse to
sell and so advertises. B writes
and wants to know about it. A
replies that his horse is better
than C's horse, when c lives,
possibly five hundred miles
away and in distant state. B
from this would not know
whether A had a Maud S. or a
mustang plug, Nancy Hanks
or a nanny goat. Suppose,
again, merchant should adver-
tise for sale silk at SIPS for as
much contained in the piece
Mrs. Jones bought last week,
A lady wanting silk would have
to go to see Mrs. Jones to ascer-
tain the price. In estimating
everything there must be fixed
and definite standard, whether
Of yalue weioht mr. rnaaSura