THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 



67 



enclosures ; but, as in the Hamburghs, individual ex- 

 ceptions are often met with, however truly the habit 

 may be ascribed to the race. 



THE BANTAM FOWL. 



SYNONYMES. Gcllus bankiva (var. ?), of Temminck ; Cog de Bantam, 

 of Buffon ; Bantamischcr Hahn, of the Germans ; Bantam Fowl, of tho 

 English and Anglo- Americans. 



Our little friends, the Bantams, as their name clearly 

 implies, came from Bantam, a town and kingdom in the 

 island of Java, famous for its trade in pepper. Since 

 their introduction into Europe, this breed has ramified 

 into many varieties, none of which are destitute of 

 elegance, and some remarkable for beauty. All are, or 

 ought to be, of small size, but lively and vigorous, ex- 

 hibiting in their movements both stateliness and grace. 



The Yellow or Nankin Bantams are about the most 

 useful of their tribe, and not the least ornamental. The 

 hens are mainly tinted with a ginger-yellow, and have 

 dull-blue legs and feet, and small comb. There is a sub- 

 variety, in which they are more brown, after the fashion 

 of some game hens. The cocks are decked in red, 

 orange, and scarlet, mostly with the false speculum, or 

 iridescent wing coverts, altogether of a flashy appearance ; 

 and, indeed, when good specimens of their kind, they are 

 really beautiful little birds. Their eggs are large in 

 proportion to the size of the layer, very rounded and full 

 at both ends, and of excellent flavor. The hens are ex- 



