176 



THE AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY 



Ray repudiated this theory, denied that he ever owned a Sebright 

 bantam, and stated that he had secured Silver Seabrights (not ban- 

 tams but a fowl as large as a Wyandotte) and had then infused into 

 this stock, by crossing, the blood of a so-called Chittagong (Asiatic) 

 fowl. 



No one knows for sure the origin of the big Silver Seabrights 

 that Ray secured as foundation stock. When you look behind Ray's 

 time you see only confusion. There is no recorded history and the 

 story of the foundation crosses remains unwritten. It is undoubtedly 





(Above) Spangled and (below) Penciled Feathers, the Forerunners of 

 Lacing, as Shown in Wright's "The Practical Poultry Keeper," 1867. 



