"AMATEUR" AND JUDGING.

Otago Witness, Issue 2303, 21 April 1898, Page 24

" AMATEUR" AND JUDGING.

Dear Terbob, — I was much amused at "Amateur's" foolishness iv quoting as lie did from an American expert as his own ideas. I am still more ftDsustd at ." Amaleur's " remarks in last week's Witness re argument. lam giad for his sake he has made a stipulation that bis arguments need not be good, bid, or iadlffereut. Without doubt they are ind : ffdrent in the extreme. In answer to "Amateur's" remaiks re Mr Look acting a3 judge ia a class, wheie there is &v imported cog of the correct type, which type he has never seeo, and also Mr "Aoiateur's" tnde a-dent jm3ge objecting to the " new chum," together with the card system, is altogether too absurd. It is as follows : — Could Mr Look, Mr Independent, or <he cird system judge correctly a class they had nevus seen before, although they might "have the standard before them ? I pay distinctly nehher could judge them Ib is only " Ataatt-ut '' and his friends who would attempt; to judge a class they know nothing about. I say further that to te an expert capable of judging any kind of animal or bird one must be a breeder, or one who is constantly mixed up with the o'ff'irerit breeds he is to judge, so that he can WAtsh them in every btige. If "Amateur " and Mr fiij ers are correc, then a schoolboy, cr even one of the street corner loafers could judjje — tbey would netd no experience to guide them, but simply the card and coloured plat?.

To satisfy Me " Amateur " re poultry, I will .here quote a facb that m-itht r the judge nor the exhibitor can refu L e. Mr Rose, of this cifcy, imported some time ago a pair of Black Spauish from England, which were very fins birds ; the cock had three firsts to his credit in the old country, and gerstraily they were spoken, of by <xptr!s at Horns as splendid specimens. Well, Mr R;.£e elected to exhibit at Christcburch, where a certain gentleman acted as judge who was tupposed to be an expert — and who said he had no occasion to study Wright's standard, mind you — said that these birds were not correct ; they hsd too much f*ee, &j.j &3., and he consequently put the birds dowi*, and wh»n challenged by the exhibitor, with Wright's latest standard before thfm, lie still said the birds were nob correct, had too much face, and too soft — in fact, he had not seen anything like them before ; therefore Fomething must be wrong, or words to that efi'- c'u. In the f<ice of thM I «7o;i!d like to ask both Mr Myers and " Ain&t cur " what use it would be to give this judge a card with the poians and a coloured plate to guide h>ai, when he abiolutdy refused to be guided by the world's authority.

The fact of Mr Paul favouring tha card system does noh in the least argue in it* favour, As 1 have said 'before, and 6till maintain, this system has ptoved to be open to more fraud than any other syteni. I aay again tha*. if six judges used the card at the nexb show in the pou.try stnd pigeon st-cbion, and half an hour affcervTs-rds had frtsh csrds, s*nd in the mean-tim-r tbe birds are changed, not one of them would score his card the same. , I say again any fancier or breeder who cannot pick his first or second dogs without (he card has no righb to pose as a judge ox authority in his particular class, as he would mislead the amateur fancier and cause harm to the fancy. — I am, &0., Bkeedeb.