Now to turn our attention to the management of shows, and upon this question I feel I am fairly competent to give an opinion, as I have acted as show manager and as show secretary to some of our largest exhibitions in London and at Brighton. The office is indeed no sinecure, and very few fanciers, exhibitors, or visitors have any idea of the enormous amount of forethought required, to say nothing of physical and secretarial labours, to make a big show run smoothly. The responsibility also is great, for a conscientious manager feels he has valuable live stock in his temporary possession, of which he has, so to speak, to render up account. There are many mixed shows held throughout the country where a cat section is given, and it is to be regretted that in most, if not all cases the poor pussies are badly provided for and generally go to the wall. At a dog and cat show everything goes to the dogs! Secretaries wishing to promote successful cat sections at their mixed shows should secure some well-qualified person to have entire control of this department. It is certainly true that, of all live stock, cats require the most consideration and supervision, and yet to the masculine mind of a show secretary it would appear that the cats can look after themselves.

There is no doubt that the first step towards making a show successful is to engage the services of a competent, energetic, and painstaking manager and secretary. It is also very desirable to appoint a really good working show committee, the members of which should each undertake some particular duty in connection with the show. For instance, one member might superintend the feeding, another could be responsible for obtaining promises of special prizes, another devote him- or herself to verifying the prize tickets placed on the pens, and so on. A system of advertising a show must be decided upon by the show committee, and notices sent to the various journals which are circulated amongst fanciers. The class and prize tickets must be ordered in good time either by the secretary of the club or the manager of the show.

Kits With A Taste For Flowers (Photo: Mrs. S. F. Clarke. )

Two Kittens Bred By Miss Williams [Photo: H. Jenkins, Lowestoft. )

The best time of the year for a show as regards the appearance of Persian cats is in December or January. Then, if ever, these particular cats should be in the best show condition. As regards kittens, the early summer or autumn is the best period, as spring kittens will then be ready to make their bow to the public. It is much to be regretted that the two principal shows of the National Cat Club - namely, the Botanic Gardens and the Crystal Palace Shows - should be held respectively in June and October, when Persian cats are in poor coat.

Quite three months before the date of the show a managing secretary will start work. Catalogues of previous shows must be collected together, in order to ascertain the names and addresses of likely exhibitors.

Special prizes are now a great feature at all cat shows, and a good deal of extra work is entailed by writing to obtain promises of these for the various breeds. If possible, it is well to appoint someone who is in touch with those who are likely to become donors, and to hand over this department. I would advise anyone undertaking this branch of the show to have a book, and to head each page with the respective classes of long and short haired breeds, and then when a special is received - say, for the best black Persian cat - to place this on the page set apart for specials for this particular breed. Keep a separate list for kittens, and decline to accept specials given in the form of stud visits or for cats bred from such-and-such a sire; these savour too much of self-advertisement. There are so many specialist societies nowadays, and as these provide their own specials the show executive is considerably relieved of the duty of obtaining prizes.

Of course, there are always a certain number of challenge cups, medals, and specials given by the club holding the show, and care should be taken to distribute these fairly amongst the various classes. It is usual and advisable to limit the competition of the majority of these special prizes to the members of the club. I do not approve of a special prize being offered for the best cat in the show, as it is almost impossible for the judges to arrive at a satisfactory decision, and considerable heartburnings are generally the result of such a competition. A very useful mode of assisting a show is by guaranteeing classes; and I would suggest yet another plan, namely, to subscribe so much towards the expenses of the show. These are necessarily heavy, and it has been stated that no cat show can ever be made a paying affair.

As regards the specialist societies, I think it seems the correct thing that the club intending to hold the show should instruct its secretary to write to the secretary of each specialist society to ask if he is willing to support the show by prizes or by guaranteeing classes, and to name the latest date for receiving particulars of the support to be given. The specialist societies have their own judges, and it is only natural when they are offering handsome prizes that a claim should be made for first-class judging in the interests of the breed. It is therefore essential, as matters at present stand, for one of the judges from the list of the specialist club to be selected to give awards in the classes connected with the society. It is important to obtain as full a list as possible of special prizes from societies and outside donors in good time for insertion in the schedule, as a tempting list will ensure a better entry. In the schedule the exhibition rules of the club should be printed, and in addition there should be a list of arrangements in a prominent position setting forth details as to the opening and closing of the show, the time up to which exhibits are received, the earliest hour at which they may be removed, and the prices of admission.