THE POULTRY SOCIETY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 164, 20 October 1910, Page 3

THE POULTRY SOCIETY.

(To the Editor.) 11 Sir, —I read with interest the letter | from "Disgusted" anent the Poultry | Society and its cup. Like the aggrieved | person mentioned. I was for manyj| years an exhibitor at the local shows,' and, like him, too, I bred fowls for a, _ hobby. But I, too, became disgusted, and ceased to show birds. Tliere were| several individuals, aiul one in partial-* lar, whose tactics disgusted me. They, made a point of breeding birds of breeds, that the average man wouldn't touch, and which few had any time for. Theyj were "fancy" fowl, and no mistake, i Xow, these gentlemen showed their, birds year after year in classes where there was no competition, and scoreo their firsts, or firsts and seconds, with a painful monotony.' until their prizetickets must have run into big bundles. | That sort of thing was an expensive one for the Society, of which on;' of these exhibitors was a member, and on whose committee he sat for years. Every | single entry class cost the Society] money, for the prize-money was 2s (id, | and the entry only 2s. On top of this, 1 the Society had to pay cost of erecting! the pens or cages—and, as all ohn committeemen know, this has always! been a costly work under the system j adopted previous to last year, when the members of the committee did the worki themselves, and the wages bill came.| down. They had to pay hall hire, cartage, affiliation fees, judges.' expenses, printing and advertising—out of what?! Out of the profit made from the pot-| hunters! Xo. but out of the breeders] who staged the utility birds, shown 20, and more in a section where the competition was keen and the prize-ticket! meant something, and where the prizemoney wasn't bigger than the a mountj received in entries. Last year all this! vis altered, and the single entry class \ ;s made to contribute to the cost of the Society's administration. Every bird in the Show did that. The utility, classes were as big as ever, perhaps bigger. I What became of the chap with thej fancy fowl in the '"soft thing" classes? His enthusiasm went when the single! sixpence profit disappeared. All of this,' you will say, has nothing to do with the complaint about the cup. Perhaps)

it hasn't. The -gentleman undoubtedly! has a grievance. But it shows that the Society is not- all bad. and that last year I it made a determined efi'ort to conduct the show on business lines, as the result of which, and the hard work of the previous year, a large load of debt bequeathed by previous managements has gradually been reduced. Work like this stands out prominently, even beyond the matter of a trophy. Trusting you will see I your way to insert this,—T am. etc.. ' FANCIER.