Evening star., 1916-10-15

| fore, from an educational and an adyer-
tising standpoint it is the greatest me-
dunn we have today.
OF especial value is the small show,
| the one held in a community that prob
ably cannot command more than A hum
| dred entries. When such a show is
judged by an expert. especially one who
| mas been engaged from outside. the in
| terest VIII be greater and the education
! OF higher order. A good judge will not
only place his awards in the proper
manner, but he will disqualify when
! ever it requires. Then. after finishing
his work, he will stand ready to "ex-
| plain it ar to those wishing to know
Surely the local poultry exhibition is
! the greatest educator the community
| can have.
For the benefit Of the amateur who
| desires to try out his fowls at one of
these home displays, this article is
specially written.
The keynote to success in showing,
II might be said, lies in one word
| condition" There is no real sym
metry without condition. size and
weight largely depend upon condition:
| Dfilliancy of comb, earlobes and wattles
depend upon condition; back, breast,
body, wings, tail. fluff and legs. all are
| aHected by condition. Thus il will be
seen that success or failure in the show
room is matter that hinges. relatively,
on condition.
|
is the state Of a fowl as regards health,
cleanliness and order of plumage
| inc legs and toes of the birds should
! be carefully washed and cleaned IA few
Gays before taking them to the exhibi- =
| tloh For this purpose have strong
soapsuds and stiff -bristled toothbrush
| DO the work thoroughly, taking erea I
care TO get all dirt from under the
| scaies. AFTER thoroughly cleaned rub
with little sweet oil. in which has
or af,
| bolc acid After this prcparation the
| blrds should he placed in a large cage,
| the moor of which is bedded with clean
! straw.
for Frightening the comb and wat
I Ties, mixture of two parts alcohol and
| one part glycerin is often rubbed on the
paris. NaSeline is also used by some
| showmen.
| Inc plumage. too. must be clean. and,
| IN cases of white birds, some prefer
"asn!hS. When this is done Il good
quaiity OF soap should be used How
ever in the loca! shows il is better to
| nave naturally clean birds than washed
ones. twenty years ago breeders were
nor so particular about washing their
| bifds. They would select their speci-
mems early in the season and Keen them
| III separate pen. the floor of which
was covered with clean rye straw.
When these birds were sent to the show
lhey mao that natural white color that
|
| ural white which can come only from
sciehtlnc washings This same plan
can sun be followed by the local shows.
| ABOUT TWO or three weeks he ore eX-
hlpiphS' the birds should be placed in
separate cages, so that they will be
come accustomed to being handled This
WIZ tame them Shave in this manner
supoued the widest bird in a weeks
time. 80
me poultry shows in general are
educational, they can be made all the
more so by little extra effort. Many
ol the VISITORS to the local shows arc
uninformed regarding the different
pfeeus, ana must either ask "A lot of
Questions or pass on content that they
saw nice Chickens 1t will be found
aoVahtaseous to both the management
and the public. if each cage is properly
labeled barred Plymouth Rock Cock"
sarreo plymouth Rock Hen" etc, as
the case may be. In this way the ANA
teur ~ assured and not left to wonder.
In addition. If such informatio can be
given, as This hen's record. as a pull
let, was 200 eggs, it Will add interest.
There are numerous good things that
can be said about the different breeds
that will advertise them in a substan-
tial way.
II the classes are kept together, the
American, Asiatic, Mediterranean, etc,
the breeds in each class arranged ac-
cording to their Introduction to the
poultry worid-and little history
added stating when they were origi-