June 1, 1S71. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICDLTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



391 



■breed affords greater amusement and interest, and for a few of 

 these birds the expense is nil, while many eggs are the return. 



Bantams have been great favourites in England from our 

 forefathers' time to ours, and favourites they always will be. 

 The most ignorant person, poultry-ignorant I mean, who just 

 does the poultry tent at the I3ath and West of England, or such 

 like shows, yet pauses always to notice the pretty little cox- 

 combical, bumptious Bantams. My own plan since I have 

 lived in my present home, where are no divisions save of 

 evergreens between flower garden, kitchen garden, and yard, is 

 to give them liberty from September to March all day long. In 

 ilarch, when the seeds are jast sown, it is better to keep them 

 in a little wire enclosure ; jast a little house of any kind, and 

 a wired space of a few feet or yards square will do. If into this 

 you throw some of the mowings of the lawn, and an odd bit of 

 green food now and then, and supply them with a morning's 

 meal of corn, and dinner-plate scrapings in the middle of the 

 day, the little creatures will do wonderfully well, having, of 

 course, clean water and a dust bath. If quite at liberty mine 

 seem to despise corn, but then their range is very large in 

 shrubberies and park, and the supply from the kitchen is also 

 considerable. During the spring I let them out at four or five 

 o'clock in the afternoon, when they attack the manure heap, and 

 then walk the lawn, and are off to bed before they can do 

 mischief to the seeds. In rainy weather I let them out all day, 

 for when the ground is wet they can do no possible damage, 

 even in the flower garden, while they can and do surprise many 

 a caterpillar, and grub, and worm. As the summer advances I 

 give them more and more liberty. A little Bantam hen or two 

 about with chickens is always doing good in clearing the ground 

 of insects, and in late summer and the rest of the year, and on 

 to the next March, I am sure Bantams only do good. This has 

 been my plan for years, and I inherited a garden overrun with 

 slugs, but they have disappeared long ago. 



Thus, having shown that the little things only do good if 

 lightly managed, and afford infinite amusement, I would eay 

 further that exhibitors of large fowls may with advantage 

 ■jnttke Bantams their second horse; there will be no crossing of 

 breeds, and the carriage is trifling. 



To come now to varieties. The feather-legged speckled 

 3antame of the last century are, I fear, nearly extinct. I saw 

 some in a back street at Portsmouth in 1853, near a bird shop, 

 Rnd one pen, I think, I remember at the Birmingham Show in 

 1865. These I apprehend were the Bantams which Horace 

 Walpole kept, as Peter Cunningham in his interesting sketch 

 of his life, placed at the beginning of the complete edition of 

 his letters, tells us that the lord of Strawberry Hill might be 

 seen in the morning walking about feeding his Bantams. 

 These birds I well remember a few old gentlemen, somewhere 

 about 1830 and a few years later, used to take great delight 

 in. About that time, as far as I can recollect. Bantams were 

 talked of as either feather-legged or smooth-legged, the latter 

 being the Nankin Bantams. Exhibitions there were then 

 none, but I knew many ardent Bantam-fanciers ; almost all 

 were tradesmen in a country town, who had small backyards 

 adjoining, perhaps a stable. The Nankins were in those days 

 much the prettiest, save, of course, the Sebrights, which were 

 scarce ; the contrast of feather was pretty — Nankin body and 

 the dark hackle and tail. These yellow Bantams are now 

 seldom seen, and yet they have had their share in aiding in 

 producing two beautiful varieties, first the Sebright, and 

 secondly the more modern Game Bantam. The old feather- 

 legged and the Nankin did well in a very moderate range, es- 

 pecially the former, who were less active. There were also 

 Partridge Bantams with yellow legs, and I think the cock hen- 

 tailed. I have seen in inferior breeds of Game Bantams clear 

 traces of the Partridge cross in the breast and wings. I have 

 no recollection whatever of an old class of Black Bantams, but 

 there were White ones, both feather-legged and clear-legged, 

 but large and inferior in colour to our modern birds. 



Next — and what a next ! — the elegaut-plumaged bird manu- 

 -factured by the late Sir John Sebright, and known by his name. 

 These were for a time a rage, and put all other Bantams to 

 flight in the esteem of fanciers. Never was a greater triumph 

 in feather culture, and if the Germans can boast, as they 

 reasonably may, of resplendent Toy Pigeons of their manu- 

 facture. Englishmen can point to the Sebright Bantam and the 

 Almond Tumbler. The Sebright fancy is one which should 

 aot be suffered to go down. Bantams are especially ladies' 

 pets, and the Sebright, from its beautiful feathering, and the 

 special skill ladies have in colour and in markings, should be 

 the ladies' bird. A lady with a fair command of money might 



do wonders with these birds, and produce a sight which would 

 gratify hundreds, I mean a display of Sebrights on a large 

 scale. They do not require much space, but stock birds — that 

 is, male birds, must be kept in addition to exhibition birds. 

 Ladies, I know, object to Game Bantams because of the dub- 

 bing, but this objection does not exist in regard to Sebrights. 

 When jast hatched they are, perhaps, the most beautiful of all 

 chickens. 



The above-mentioned varieties were, as far as I know, the 

 only Bantams which were kept before the advent of poultry 

 shows. There soon came the smaller and better-bred Whites, 

 now far too much neglected, for nothing is prettier than half 

 a dozen spotless White Bantams on a lawn. There came, too, 

 very quickly into fashion the hardy, well-looking, and ex- 

 tremely intelligent Black Bantams, the cocks of which are as 

 handsome as any bird that crows, with their bright rose combs, 

 flowing hackles, and arched tails, and white deaf ears, and lioh 

 purple hues not unlike those of a Barb Pigeon. I can speak 

 from much experience of their excellence as layers and not 

 strayers; as layers, these and Black-breasted Beds bear the bell. 



Next in order of time, in production and exhibition, come the 

 Game Bantams. These were a great gain to the fancy world, 

 and in the best specimens not very numerous, but I mean such 

 as Mr. Crosland exhibits, they are the ditto of the Game fowl — 

 symmetry, colour, legs, expression of countenance, and even 

 attitudes. I have seen also fairly good Brown-breasted and 

 Dackwings. Whether it is from association or English feeling, 

 we all like to look at a Game cock, however disliking cock- 

 fighting ; and these little birds, reproducing in duodecimo the old 

 favourites, have pleased, do please, and will continue to please 

 thousands of English people. All other Bantams have rightly 

 the thick bautamy form, they are like thick-set Shetland 

 ponies, while the Game ISantams are like slim racing ponies. 

 Even the last introduced, the Japanese Bantams, have the 

 thick shape, while they look over-combed, and resemble little 

 men with too large hats. 



Thus have I passed in review the different varieties of this 

 beautiful class of poultry, and I should be very gratified it any- 

 thing I have said should increase the number of their admirers. 

 I have shown that Bantams may be kept by anyone in any 

 garden or yard however small, suiting, of course, numbers to 

 means of accommodation. Bantams, especially the two va- 

 rieties I have noticed, produce abundance of eggs, and the 

 pullets both of the Black and Game are excellent winter layers. 

 Some people object to the small size of Bantam eggs, that fool- 

 ish though oft-repeated objection, because it is not quite easy 

 to eat two, three, or four, if you like. There is no law against 

 that that I am aware of, no act of parliament that has been 

 passed in my time, and everybody knows that the best half of 

 an egg is the first half, it is hottest, and best-tasting, and with 

 Bantams' eggs it is but as it were a series of first halves, and 

 such flavour, too I Then, again, the great abundance of de- 

 licious eggs greatly pacify our materfamiliases (i-ulgo our mis- 

 susses) who are apt to scream if they see a little Bantam scratch- 

 ing — no, lightening the soil I call it, of a flower bed ; but a pretty 

 little egg, literally or flguratively, stops a pretty little mouth very 

 eff'ectually. Young ladies can easily get sittings of eggs, the 

 pater always allows you such things, for I have always noticed 

 that fathers are never selfish or uncivil to their daughters, 

 though too often so to their sons. This, perhaps, is the reason 

 why if sons turn out badly it is rarely the mothers (God bless 

 them) who are to blame, but the fathers have been in fault, 

 not making friends of their sons, trying to rule by terror and 

 not affection, as if the heart were not the most powerful thing 

 of all. A tyrant father naturally produces a deceitful, un- 

 loving child. To return, never allow a Bantam cock to be 

 teased or fought with by a servant boy; if so thrash both bird 

 and boy at once, send one off breathless, the other blubbering, 

 and both will be cured. 



All Bantams sit well, and are good mothers. The dubbing 

 of the Game must I fear be continued, and the bird not being 

 in the least depressed or daunted by it shows that it does not 

 suffer much. Cat close with stable scissors, and have the 

 kitchen dredge-box at hand, and dust the place well with flour, 

 and henceforth your bird cannot be taken at a disadvantage by 

 any chance adversary. Keep Bantams as pets ; exhibitors, 

 adopt one variety as a second horse. Choose your variety ac- 

 cording to your individual taste.— Wiltshire Eecior. 



Maschestee and Liverpool Agricultural Society's Show. 

 —The prizes offered at the Show of this Society to be held at 



