OLD ENGLISH GAME BANTAMS. 



517 



might have been purchased a little while ago 

 for a shilling, and picked up in a backyard, 

 compasses now a couple of i^S notes. 



The varieties of Old English Bantams, like 

 those of Old English Game, are legion, but in 

 my estimation the palm for beauty must go to 

 the Spangles, followed by the Black-reds. In 

 no way are the dwarfs inferior in pluck and 

 defiant attitude. I feel sure that they will 

 live long and see good days, which they well 

 deserve. They are extremely hardy and 

 healthy, easy to rear as chicks, and may be 

 kept in exposed situations where the IModern 

 Game Bantam would perish, whilst to-day, in 

 igii, they are certainly more popular than 

 Modern Game Bantams. 



I will now try to describe what in my 

 opinion an ideal Old English Game Bantam 

 should be. Head medium length, but thicker 

 than the Modern Game Bantam ; face bright 

 red, with a red, fiery, defiant eye, strong, 

 slightly curved beak, comb small, of fine tex- 

 ture and single, wattles and ear-lobes a bright 

 healthy red, the latter without a trace of white. 

 Neck-hackle plentiful, coming down well on 

 to the shoulders, and covering a fairly long 

 neck, set well between a pair of broad, promi- 

 nent shoulders, and above a full, broad, deep 

 chest. Back broad and short, stern fine, giving 

 the body a wedge-like look, wings short, well 

 tucked into the side, but full, so as to avoid 

 any appearance of being " flat-sided," which is 

 a serious defect. Legs short and thighs 

 muscular, well set apart, shanks medium 

 length and round in front, not flat. The legs 

 should be white or yellow in the before- 

 mentioned Spangled variety, but white for 

 preference, toes long, straight, and muscular, 

 with no signs of being duck-footed. Carriage 

 bold, sprightly, defiant and independent. The 

 tail should be the complete antithesis of that 

 of a Modern Game. The square, or hen tail 

 as it is sometimes termed, is longer and 

 broader in webbing, whilst the sickles are 

 broad, a good length and nicely bowed, with 

 four or five good side hangers on either side 

 placed so as to well clothe the tail proper. The 

 bird when in hand should feel corky and yet 

 hard. 



The points of colour in Black-reds are 

 exactly those of a good Modern Black-red, 

 with beak to match the legs. The tail, and 

 also flight feathers, sometimes runs into white, 

 which is to some extent a defect, but only a 

 slight one, in the exhibition-pen. The pullet 

 is either of the partridge or wheaten type, 

 broad in front, short in back, with short, 

 muscular legs and a full tail. The partridge 



colour has been fully described already, under 

 the Modern Black-red Bantam hens. The 

 Wheaten is a beautiful bird, with a bright 

 golden hackle, with narrow dark striping down 

 each side of the shaft. Her breast and thighs 

 are a pale fawn colour, whilst the top colour, 

 together with the two top outer feathers of her 

 tail, is that of red wheat, hence the name. The 

 tail proper is black. 



The colour in Spangles is very beautiful, 

 both sexes in this respect being identical. 

 Heads cherry red, as in Black-reds, plumage 

 throughout black, red, or blue, ev'enly spangled 

 all over with white, tail black and white, legs 

 white or yellow. 



The cocks run from 14 ozs. to 20 ozs., 

 whilst hens are from 12 ozs. to 18 ozs. 



Black-red cocks may be Wheaten-bred or 

 pure. If from Wheatens, the colour is not so 

 bright, strange to say, as from partridge, if 

 the cock be partridge-bred too. The 

 Breeding brightest golden-coloured cocks. 

 Old English partridge-bred, are much brighter 

 Game than the brightest from Wheatens, 



Bantams. and are generally a sounder black 

 on breast. The partridge hens 

 must, of course, be bred from pure partridge- 

 bred birds on both sides, with no admi.xture 

 of Wheaten blood whatever, and the same 

 lines should be followed exactly as recom- 

 mended for the production of the Modern 

 Black-red. To successfully breed Wheatens 

 we want Wheaten blood on both sides, a 

 Black-red Wheaten-bred cock with Wheaten 

 hens or pullets, and this cock should be much 

 darker in top colour than the exhibition cock, 

 and be pure Wheaten-bred. 



The best Spangles seem to be produced 

 from parents evenly spangled on both sides. 

 Should the produce, however, run too light, 

 use a partridge hen, as producing a rather 

 more pleasing shade than a Wheaten, and 

 harder quality of feather. My choice, how- 

 ever, would be to breed from evenly spangled 

 birds rather than resort to this cross. 



Blue Duns require a word or two, though 

 no very precise lines can be taken for their 

 production, as they may come from Black-red 

 cocks and blue hens, or a blue-red cock and a 

 Wheaten hen, all being very sound in colour 

 to begin with. Probably a good blue hen 

 could be bred from the latter, as well as from 

 pure blues on both sides. The fact is they 

 can be bred many ways, and it hardly matters 

 how, as, if proper type, shape, and size be 

 secured, colour in an Old English Game fowl 

 of any kind is quite a secondary consideration, 

 with the exception of Black-reds. What must 



