530 



THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 



sixty applicants after I had none to spare. At 

 the early part of the breeding season such birds 

 will fetch from four shillings to six shillings 

 each when broody, for they are invaluable 

 upon small, thin-shelled eggs, owing to their 

 extreme lightness, and to the very great care 

 they take both of eggs and chicks. They will 

 sit for six weeks with the greatest composure, 

 and even longer, if required ; but by the time 

 they have brought off a second brood they are 

 so poor in flesh as to have little heat left in 

 their bodies, and it is advisable to give them 

 their second chicks, and let them go their way. 



The Frizzles which are shown as Bantams, 

 are believed by some to have come from Japan, 

 and it is not unlikely that a dwarf race should 

 do so. They have been shown with all sorts of 

 combs, clean and feathered legs, four and five 

 toes. The Standard allows single or rose 

 combs, but demands clean legs and four toes, 

 the shanks being exceedingly short. They 

 are very pretty when small enough, and many 

 have been shown very small indeed. They 

 require great care in wet weather. 



Rumpless Bantams have been shown in all 

 colours, and both clean-legged and booted, but 

 after what was said of the parent race, mention 

 is sufficient. They are hardy, but the same 

 precaution is required to ensure fertile eggs as 

 in the case of the larger variety. Their colours 

 and marking are obviously derived from the 

 Bantam breeds with which they have been 

 crossed. 



We come finally to a large family of Ban- 

 tams of modern origin, reproducing in miniature 

 almost all the known breeds of larger fowls, and 

 produced in most cases by mating the smallest 

 specimens procurable with the nearest or most 

 suitable Bantam breed available, and in-breeding 

 the produce. The large Asiatics were amongst 

 the first to be thus bred down, Pekin and Booted 

 being mostly used to cross with Brahmas and 

 grey Aseel to produce the Brahmas, and Game 

 Bantams to reduce the size of the smooth-legged 

 Asiatic breeds. 



Brahma Bantams are of quite modern make, 

 and, being in few hands, outside the two or three 

 largest shows very few classes are provided for 



them. They are a taking variety, 

 Brahma ^i^d very hardy, yet it is doubtful if 



Bantams. they ever rival the Pekin or Booted 



in popularity, being difficult to keep 

 down in size, and also to breed true to colour. 

 The foot-feathering, also, is not easy to obtain 

 in the length and amplitude we should like to 

 see it, quite 50 per cent, of the present Brahma 

 Bantams failing in this respect. There are two 



varieties, as in the Dark and Light Brahmas. 

 It has been no light task to get these massive 

 birds down even to the present size, and still the 

 Brahma Bantam is too large. The Lights are 

 most in favour, from the greater ease with 

 which they can be bred true to colour, but the 

 Darks also are very handsome birds indeed, 

 in fact a most taking variety. Chicks from 

 both varieties are fairly hardy, and easier to 

 rear than either Sebrights or Rosecombs, and 

 the hens are good layers of tinted eggs. 



In shape they are not unlike the Pekin. 

 The cock is a trifle longer on the leg, and the 

 hens are longer in back and tail than Pekins. 

 The cock in both varieties should have a triple 

 or pea comb, face, wattles, and ear-lobes red. 

 The Light cock should have a silver hackle, 

 with sharp dark striping towards the bottom ; 

 back, wings, shoulder, breast, and thighs white ; 

 the tail black, with the two top outer feathers 

 slightly but sharply edged with white ; legs 

 yellow, heavily feathered with white feathers to 

 end of middle toe, the freer from black the 

 better ; beak yellow, to match the legs ; and 

 eyes yellow or red. The hen is similar to the 

 cock in colour ; the hackle is white, distinctly 

 striped with black towards the shoulders, the 

 rest of her quite white, save the tail, which, like 

 that of the cock, is black slightly edged with 

 white, her legs, beak, and eyes yellow (latter 

 sometimes red), and she must be abundantly 

 feathered on legs and toes with white feathers. 

 The tout ensemble is pleasing in the extreme. 



The Dark Brahma cock is identical in colour 

 with that of the cock in the giant variety, and 

 must have all the properties described for the 

 Lights in perfection. His hackle is silvery 

 (not creamy) white, heavily striped with black, 

 the striping increasing in width as it falls more 

 upon the shoulders. The neck should be short, 

 and the hackle abundant. The breast, fluff, and 

 foot-feathering must be a sound, intense black, 

 as sheeny on the for^ner as you can get it ; tail, 

 shoulders, wing-butts, and wing-bar a good 

 sound black too ; whilst the back, shoulders, 

 and wing-bow are a clear, silvery white, without 

 any admixture of coppery or chocolate feathers. 

 The saddle hackle resembles the neck hackle, 

 tail a rich green glossy black, like the wing-bar ; 

 leg and toe feathering to be as black as possible, 

 abundant and lengthy. White feathers will 

 sometimes appear in the foot-feathering; the less 

 of it the better, although white will show now 

 and again in the foot-feathering of the best 

 Darks, and also black in that of some of the 

 best Lights. We do not meet with these 

 troubles much in the hens ; it is generally the 

 cocks that are prone to be thus mis-marked. 



