The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-05-25
PRIZES FOR LARK
SINGING GIVEN
Competitions Held by Lancashire
Clubs-Conducted With Same Care
as Football Match

From Tit-Bits.
The Golfers love for animals and birds
Is proverbial. He flies his pigeons, he
races his whippets, shows" his cats
and his guinea pigs. and subjects his
chickens to egg-laying competitions.
Very important are the 'lark-sineing
competitions of the various lark clubs
These clubs are well organized, and the
whole of the fixtures" for the year are
arranged and published with all the care
shown by league football club.
When passing along the street ON a
hne Saturday morning one may occa-
sionaHy see two or more poles project
ing from the upper windows of a public
house. from which are suspended ten or
dozen shining copper kettles. This is
done to inform all whom II may con-
Germ that there is to be a lark-snging
contest at that place in the afternoon
and that the kettles will be borne home
by the owners of the successful birds.
You could spend a pleasant afternoo1
watching the contest. For an hour or
so before the competition starts the own
ers of the birds will be arriving with
their pets. The birds are carried in
little cages carefully wrapped in an
Opaque black wrapper, for, by all tho
tenets of the lark fanciers' catechism
they must be kept in perfect darkness
from the time they leave home until the
actual time of singing arrives. AS the
competitors Increase In number the con-
Versation becomes more animated, and
the points" and peculiarities of many
birds are discussed
At last the time arrives and the Judge
takes his seat in the singing room. The
birds are brought in, one at a time, from
an adjoining room. the little cage is
hung up on hook in the wall the black
covering Is removed and the bird is left
to please itself whether it sings or not
A few minutes is allowed for the bird
to make up its mind, the time VARYING
with different clubs If, after the ex-
piration of the limit, the bird has not
started, the cage is taken down from
the wall and again wrapped In It's black
covering.
Bird No. is put up and may imme-
diately break forth into a torrent Of
song; sudden stop. a few subdued
notes are just audible, the song breaks
forth again, little firing to the ear.
perhaps, but beautifully clear; the song
wavers and comes to stop; the Judge
is carefully noting the hands of his
watch. Two silent minutes go by.
Time, cdlis tle JuuBe, ana the bird
is again wrapped up. Seven and a quar-
ter minutes of song.
The birds follow one another with va
rying success; some sulk and won't sing
note. while others are wonderfully
'plucky' and sing as heartily as their
open-air relations on the moors. At tho
end, when the last bird sings its song
and is covered in its black cloth, every
body awaits the judges award.
The results are read out, and as each
successful competitor receives his prize
he is heartily applauded
The Lancashire lark fancier is a won
derful enthusiast, and will dilate upon
the merits of his birds for hours Ono,
he will tell you, is 'nine-mnutes bird
but has no heart strange room up
sets it. and it is of no use for competi-
ton purposes; but he will tell you that
1t is "a champion at bringing others on.
Another is plucky but its song is too
short; and so on, through about half a
dozen, each in it's own little cage. hung
round the GOLFERS kitchen. Then tho
fanciers better half will be anxious to
show all the trophies. not kettles only
although there is sure to be a prepon-
derance of them-but silver-plated cruet-
stands, perhaps a silver teapot and other
useful or ornamental articles. the result
of their feathered pets prowess in the
eli