66 



OUR DOMESTIC BIRDS 



side, fall smoothly all around. True rumpless fowls are rare. 

 Many of the specimens exhibited are birds from which the 

 rump was removed when they were very young. 



Bantams. Dwarf, or bantam, fowls, on account of their dimin- 

 utive size and pert ways, are especially attractive to children. 

 Breeding them to secure the minimum size, the desired type, 

 and fine quality in plumage color has the same fascination for a 

 fancier as the breeding of large fowls, and as the small birds are 

 better adapted to small spaces, fanciers who have little room 



often devote themselves to 

 the breeding of bantams. 

 The larger and hardier va- 

 rieties of bantams are good 

 for eggs and poultry for 

 home use, but are not often 

 kept primarily for these 

 products. Most people who 

 keep bantams keep only a 

 few for pleasure, and the 

 eggs and poultry they fur- 

 nish are but a small part of 

 what the family consumes. 

 Bantam keepers who have 

 a surplus of such products 

 can usually find customers in their own neighborhood. The 

 very small bantams and the very rare varieties are usually deli- 

 cate and so hard to rear that amateurs who try them soon be- 

 come discouraged and either give up bantams or take one of 

 the hardy kinds. It is- better to begin with one of the popular 

 varieties, which are as interesting as any and, on the whole, are 

 the most satisfactory. 



Origin of bantams. After the explanation of the origin of 

 varieties given in Chapter III, and the description of the evo- 

 lution of the different races of fowls in the present chapter, it 



FIG. 56. White Cochin Bantam cockerel 



