BASTAMS.] 



POULTRY. 



[ba-n-tams. 



themselves — they won't bring them out. Erora 

 this cause, like the ofBcials in the celebrated 

 •Circumlocution Office,' they appear to try 

 * how not to do it.' 



" I can bear my own humble testimony in 

 favour of the Malay, not only for its indomitable 

 courage, but for its delicacy of flesh and general 

 utility ; and, however much the owner of a 

 courtly Spanish or plebeian Dorking may pooh- 

 pooh its appearance, its time has yet to come ; 

 and we should be glad to see it take a promi- 

 nent position in our list. But how stands this 

 class at exhibitions ? At Annerley, last year, 

 four pens were shown, and the same number 

 only at Birmingham in the adult class. The 

 reply, of course, will be, that nothing has 

 hitherto been held out to induce emulation in 

 this peculiar variety. Yet it is not too late, if a 

 sufficient amount of competition can be antici- 

 pated, to ofi'er handsome prizes for these 

 neglected but valuable birds, whose owners 

 always seem reluctant to exhibit. Divested 

 of all extraneous motives, the real object of 

 poultry shows is, 'purely and simply,' the 

 improvement of the various breeds. If any 

 should doubt that such is their ultimate 

 result, let them contrast a Cochin at Hue with 

 an English specimen of the same class, or 

 taste any native bird in its own climate, and 

 one from the breeds of our distinguished 

 amateurs or dealers. 



" In 1847, I had an opportunity of sharing 

 a variety of presents from high Cochin- China 

 authorities. Many fowls were included, and I 

 can scarcely conceive that the present bird, in 

 this country, ever emanated from this same 

 stock. Ducks, also, presented the same melan- 

 choly comparison to the prize birds here. 

 So much for cultivation and care ! But why 

 should the Malays be doomed to a status quo, 

 from the apparent diffidence of their possessors? 

 I have oftentimes, with much satisfaction to 

 self, 'discussed' a portion of 'Malay' on their 

 own coasts ; and if they be good there, taking 

 other classes of birds as precedents, why allow 

 them to degenerate here ?" 



BANTAMS. 

 Bantams are high-spirited little birds ; good 

 •layers ; delicate to eat ; useful as destroyers of 

 insects and small vermin ; and pretty domestic 

 pets, but dreadfully combative. 

 836 



The varieties of Bantam fowl cultivated in 

 England, some thirty or forty years ago, would 

 fill a longer list than they do at present. 



The gold and silver-laced, or the laced gold 

 and silver, are the most popular favourites, and 

 were most carefully cultivated under the aus- 

 pices of the late Sir John Sebright, if they do 

 not owe to him their existence as a breed. 

 The baronet's mode of proceeding is thus de- 

 scribed by one who had opportunities of know- 

 ing it : — " As I am living only nine miles from 

 Beechwood, it may be interesting to you to 

 learn, that neighbours, who knew the late Sir 

 J. S., say that he sometimes hatched five hun- 

 dred chickens in a season, but killed all those 

 which showed the slightest irregularity of 

 colour, and only reared a very few. Ordinary 

 people cannot aflibrd to breed fowls on that 

 system; and, even if they could, such waste- 

 fulness and wantonness, approaching to cruelty, 

 would not be creditable to them." 



Mr. Eichardson says, that the forms of the 

 Bantams are usually modelled after the Game 

 and the Hamburg fowls. The Sebright has 

 its legs perfectly naked down to the toes. The 

 cock, of this breed, should have a rose comb, 

 full hackles, a well-feathered and well-carried 

 tail — from which, however, the sickle feathers 

 should be absent, and he is thence said to be 

 hen-tailed — a stately courageous demeanour, 

 and should not be quite a pound in weight. The 

 lacings, which must be fine and regular, should 

 follow the edge of the feather, on a golden yellow 

 or creamy-white ground. The bird is of high 

 courage, and will fight with great resolution. 

 The attitude of the cock is proud and haughty ; 

 his head being thrown back so as nearly to 

 touch the feathers of his tail, much in the style 

 of a fan-tail pigeon. Well-bred birds fetch 

 high prices. 



The white Bantams, kept by her majesty at 

 the Home Park, are of a perfectly white colour, 

 and ■ exceedingly small size ; they appear also 

 to have exhibited some peculiar traits of habit 

 and disposition. The cocks were so fond of 

 sucking the eggs laid by the hen, that they 

 would often drive her from the nest in order to 

 obtain them. They have even been asserted to 

 attack her, tear open the ovarium, and devour 

 its shell-less contents. In order, if possible, to 

 subdue this unnatural propensity, her majesty's 

 keeper first gave the cocks a hard-boiled, and 



