FINAL DEATH-THROES.
The officers and the judges at the poultry-fairs (most of whom are
self-constituted), as will be seen, usually carried away all the first
prizes. At a late show of the New York _State_ Society, the president
thereof received about _one third_ of all the premiums awarded, and yet
his fowls were nearly all _second_ and _third_ rate, and not one of
them, it was stated, was _bred_ by him. He may have bred a few specimens
during last season, but not _one_ on exhibition was bred by him. The
people and certain greenhorns were astonished to see the way in which
the premiums were awarded to him. One of the judges there seemed
determined to award to him every premium that his influence could
secure, right or wrong; and, from what was learned from exhibitors, it
did look very much like an existing understanding between the parties in
regard to the premiums.
For the above statement we have the authority of a huckster in New York,
who did _not_ obtain any premiums, and who says of the management of
the state show there, that this sort of partiality shown in favor of the
wire-pullers "is the rock on which the 'New England Poultry Society'
foundered; and our state society is treading in the footsteps of its
'illustrious predecessor.'"
This writer contends that the president of the New York society, who
thus received about all the premiums at one of their late shows, was a
man of too much discernment not to see that such a _farce_ as some of
the judges played would redound to his discredit. They went _too
far_--overdid the matter; hence the universal indignation of exhibitors.
And then concludes that "poultry-societies generally merge into mere
_speculating_ gatherings, a _few_ receiving most of the premiums, while
the uninitiated exhibitor is made a tool to swell the income of those
who pull the wires. Many breeders exhibit solely for the sake of the
_notoriety_ that their fowls will receive,--a sort of _gratuitous_
advertising,"--and it is now got to be "notorious that an order sent to
one who receives the _first_ premium for fowls is no more likely, in
many cases, to be filled with any better fowls than if sent to one who
took no premium at all; as the _prize_ fowls are not often for sale, and
very inferior specimens are sent when orders are received."
This information would have answered very well, had it been afforded
years ago. Now that the fever has disappeared almost entirely, and now
that everybody has been gulled, and gouged, and _gorged_, with the
fulsome and glowing accounts of the asserted reality of this thing, from
the pen of this very man among the rest, it comes rather late in the day
for such an one to "warn the people," and in such a manner!
But, soon after the exhibition above referred to had closed, the
president of the society issued a most astounding "card," _declining_ to
receive the premiums awarded him, and in which appears the following
sentence:
"In connection with the report of the Judges of the late State
Poultry Show, allow me to make a statement. As appears from the
report, my birds have been unusually successful in the contest for
premiums, sixteen out of twenty distinct varieties exhibited being
so honored. This was more than I expected, and more than I honestly
think they deserved. And I am strongly of opinion that, had they
had more time, they would have come to a different conclusion, in
two or three cases."
I was prepared for almost anything in the hen-trade, up to this time;
but this performance really astonished _me_! The man actually refused to
take the premiums awarded him! He even went so far as to show the
"judges" who _ought_ to have had the prizes, rather than himself. And he
actually sent back to the committee the money they forwarded to him
after the exhibition was over!!
Now, if this were not sufficient to astonish "the people," I am very
much in error regarding the ordinary strength of their nerves. It was an
almost immaculate performance; and the "New York State Poultry Society"
should positively insist that this extraordinary man (if he can be
proved to be sane) should at once accept from them one of the
largest-sized leather medals, to be worn next to his gizzard, for this
unexampled disinterestedness, and extraordinary sacrifice of self. O,
but _that_ gentleman must be "a brick," indeed!
A journal that alluded to this singular circumstance, at the time,
asserted that this procedure on the part of the president "was highly
commendable in the author, if his statements were made through
_principle_, rather than through fear to encounter _public opinion_. He
stands high in the estimation of the public, and we have ever considered
him as strictly honorable in all his business transactions; but we
cannot help thinking that 'a screw was loose' somewhere in the matter.
His statements are not very flattering to the judgment of the judges,
and show that some of them, at least, were not competent to discharge
their duties properly," etc.; while, in _my_ opinion, than this, a more
bare-faced piece of _mush_ was never yet perpetrated, in the details
even of the hen-trade.
This was emphatically among the "death-throes" of the _mania_. And cards
like the following found their way into the newspapers, about this
time, in further proof that the valve of this huge balloon had slipped
out. An ambitious Western man says:
"I have long been expecting to hear of the swindling operations of
a certain dealer, who makes a great display of _pretending_ to have
_every_ breed known or bred in this country; and, to my _certain_
knowledge, buys all, or nearly all, of his fowls, as wanted, and as
many on _credit_ as he can, but does not _pay_, nor can the _law
reach_ him to make him pay. I believe, also, that the papers that
advertise for him are doing it for _nothing_--that is, that they
are not, and never will be paid for it.
"Such a course, in my opinion, is no better than highway robbery;
and I hereby give said person fair warning to act honestly
hereafter, or I will point him out in a way that shall not be
misunderstood, as I cannot see such rascality perpetrated, and
remain silent.
"A man who deals in high-priced fowls, in receiving pay in
_advance_, has his customers completely at his mercy, especially
when he is not _responsible_ for a copper; and at the rates that
fowls sell for--say, from ten dollars to one hundred dollars a
pair--purchasers should receive what is promised them,--good
specimens of the _pure_ breeds. So far as _weight_ is concerned, a
pair of fowls will fall off _a few pounds_ in a journey of a week
or less, in a cramped condition, and perhaps without food for a
portion of the time; but in other respects justice should be done
to the confiding purchaser."
Beautiful!--poetical!--musical! This advertiser, I have no doubt, keeps
only _pure_ stock. I do not know who he is; but, if I wanted to buy
(which I don't), I should certainly apply to such an honest and
justice-loving person, because I should feel assured, after reading
such an advertisement, that _that_ man was a professor of religion; and,
even if he had the chance, would never fleece me--_over the left_!
Other fanciers, in their utter desperation (as the fever so positively
and now rapidly begun to decline), resorted to the printing of the
_pedigrees_ of their stock; and the following advertisements made their
appearance late in 1854:
"By the influence of Mr. Ellibeth Watch (editor of the _London Polkem
Chronicler_, and uncle to the Turkish Bashaw with three long tails), I
have just procured a few of Prince Albert's famous breed of 'Windsor
fowls.' In a letter to me of the 32d day of April, Mr. Watch observes:
'I have positively ordered a trio of _Windsor_ Fowls of Prince
Albert, for you. It is THE BEST BREED IN ENGLAND, and they are much
run after, and cannot be had without giving previous notice; but
you are safe to have yours. I have engaged a friend to choose yours
for you; and I consider it _a great thing_ to get them direct from
the Prince, for you must be aware that persons generally cannot
exactly _pick and choose_ FROM THE PRINCE'S OWN STOCK. I shall
employ an efficient person to have them shipped, etc.'"
In due time this remarkable stock arrived in America, and their
pedigrees were duly published; the advertiser being "thus particular,"
because (as he asserted) "there had been so much imposition upon the
public by irresponsible persons _claiming to have made importations_"!
Now I never entertained the slightest objections to this sort of
advertisement,--not _I_, i'faith! On the contrary, I deem all this kind
of thing very excellent, in its way, to be sure. The more the merrier.
"The people" want it, and let them have it, say I.
But, at the same time, though the "Porte-Monnaie I owe 'ems" declare
that their unrivalled stock comes from Prince Albert's yards, I feel
very well assured that all this is a mere guy, it being very well known
that His Royal Highness is not engaged in the hen-trade particularly,
and of course has something else to do besides supplying even the
"Porte-Monnaie Company" with his pigs and chickens.
It was a rare undertaking, this importing live stock (with any
expectation of selling it) in the fall of 1854! But we shall soon see
who were the final victims of the "fever."