168 BANTAM FOWLS. 



hens and a cock, of these beautiful emblems of pride and consequence, 

 sold for 50 and Is., being a shilling more than the amount put on 

 them by their owner. At the sale of the late lamented baronet, the 

 golden grounded birds averaged 6 a brace, and the silver spangled 

 8 a brace ; although they are becoming comparatively abundant, 

 they still keep up a high price in the London market, if well marked. 

 There has been lately offered here, some fine specimens, from Sir 

 John's own stock, at a very low figure. I do not think anything 

 could exceed their perfection of feather. A lady near Shrewsbury 

 has procured some fine specimens of both gold and silver spangled, 

 from this neighborhood ; if she still retain them, I think she may 

 challenge England. As far as I can judge, they are quite superior to 

 those that took the prize in London. Some ladies in the Queen's 

 County, have procured fine specimens from the late baronet's stock; 

 I have no doubt but under their fostering care, the breed will be 

 kept up with as much ardor as during the lifetime of the great poultry 

 patron, Sir John, and that we will be breeding them, as in the baro- 

 net's lifetime, " to a single feather," and retain their character of the 

 " prettiest of domestic birds." The male birds should stand about 

 twelve inches high ; the standard weight being twenty -two ounces ; 

 the plumage as above described ; the rose-comb is preferred ; the 

 wattles are moderately long ; face and throat bare ; no top-knot 

 or ruff on the neck ; as free as possible from hackle ; tail, without the 

 plume, or what is called hen-tailed ; perfectly clean-legged. The hens 

 are abundant layers, and though it is said there is a difficulty in 

 rearing their chickens, my patrons have been successful in that way. 

 Both flesh and eggs are said to be of fine flavor ; although scarcely 

 ever without the birds, I have not had the good fortune to taste their 

 flesh, but have no hesitation, from the report of others, in pronouncing 

 it delicate. The Bantams take their name from a country on the 

 N. "W. coast of Java, once populous and flourishing, but now miserably 

 deserted, its commerce being transferred to Batavia. 



There are several varieties of the Bantam, in addition to the above 

 the black-breasted red, black, Nankin, white, and booted. The 

 black-breasted red, if denuded of his comb and gills, is a complete 

 miniature representative of our Game cock. I had a beauty of this 

 sort, that used to put dogs and fowl to the route, and had the 

 temerity to quarrel with a Peregrine Falcon for his food, but unfortu- 

 nately, suffered decapitation for his presumption. This is the nearest 

 approach to the Bankiva Cock, or wild cock of Java, and so like, in 

 some individuals, as to be difficult to distinguish them. The black 

 variety has all the pugnacity of its congeners. The whole of the 

 clean-legged tribe are recommended as good mothers ; I have reared 

 all our usual sorts of pheasants, most successfully, by them. The 

 Nankins are those in use in the great aviary of the Earl of Derby, 

 for hatching out the various sorts of quail, partridge, and pheasants, 

 to which Mr. Thompson has added Cantelo's Incubator, and no one 

 in Britain can boast of so much success or experience, as that experi- 

 enced ornithologist The white are precisely the same as the others, 

 only varying in color. James "Walter, of Windsor, gives a rather 

 unflattering account of their destroying their eggs ; I have kept 

 them, and never discovered it. 



