January
9th 1989
Dear
Bill,
Today
I received your card of Maitland, but earlier I got your letter, which I
planned to answer this evening, when my husband has to play in a bridge team
to hold the first place in the competition. Thank you for both.
In
the letter you wrote "...the rumplessness in the Japanese chicken is
different to the European chicken..." (you quote me) but this should be
the rumplessness of the Araucana chicken is different to the European chicken.
You know, the Araucana has a vertebra more as other rumpless fowl.
But
first I must say I am very glad that your eyesight is so much improved that
you are able to read again. Here we had a good time with Christmas. The
Poultry Club of Meteren, 2½ miles from here, organised a fancy faire and we
played there for hours winning nothing till we won 3 turkey within half an
hour. So I had 2 in the oven for Christmas dinner when our daughter with her
family joined us. The judging season walks to its end, only one job at the end
of the month. I am glad because I did 25 judgings and I am going to reduce the
number of the jobs. I try to stay nearer to Waardenburg because I don’t like
to travel 6 hours of a day.
I
got breeding eggs from an American friend and have made breeding pens now for
the new Modern English Game bantams and I have rised a pair of mottled Cochin
bantams which I never had before. They are very good birds. I also get some
Marans bantams which they are very rare (French breed). My birds did well on
the 2 shows in Waardenburg and Meteren. First my old cock (OEG bantam) became
champion and on the second show my Welsumer pullet took the cup. It is too
much work to enter my birds into the large shows. Thank you for copies of the
winning birds of the Pekins, beautiful birds indeed.
Sincerely
yours,