THE BANTAM POWL. 



"beautiful into miniatura form, some 

 -with long flowing leaves, others with 

 waxen texture and bright glowing col- 

 ors. These are engrafted into one an- 

 other until the product is a beautiful 

 little toy tree with many kinds and col- 

 ors of leaves. Even in the production 

 of fruit trees they succeed in getting 

 wonderful results, 



A friend, w'ho spent years of his life 

 in their country, tells me that they take 

 young fowls and animals and confine 

 themin boxes made to suit their purpose, 

 and of different forms to meet the form 

 of their specimen. These are confined 

 in the ill-shaped boxes until they ma- 

 ture anti their bodies grow to the shape 

 of the inside of the box. No considera- 

 tion of time and trouble affects them 

 just so they can accomplish the object 

 in view and surpass a neighbor in the 

 work. Think of a square shaped chicken or pig, or a squir- 

 rel or rabbit with a hump like a camel! These same efforts 

 produced the fowls with the very long tails, many of which 

 are little larger than our Bantams. To produce these curi- 

 ous freaks must take an extent of confinement on one hand 

 and so close inbreeding on the other that they must possess 

 some wonderful secret of infusing vigor into their specimens 

 unknown to us. 



Some thirty-five years ago the first fowls known as Jap- 

 anese Bantams came to England. The early specimens were 

 of cuckoo marking, others variously marked and speckled, 

 but the most attractive were what we now call Black Tailed 

 Japanese Bantams. No mention is made of the white edge 

 on the sickle feathers of those early importations. We 

 should presume from all information at hand that this was 

 not prominent enough to cause any mention of same. In 

 addition to the above mentioned varieties, some camo friz- 

 zled feathered. 



The Black Tailed Japanese are described as follows, by 

 an early writer: "The cock has good carriage, short clear 

 yellow legs, drooping wings with black flights, body white, 

 tail erect with long black sickle feathers showing white 

 shaft, comb large and upright, moderate serrations, wattles 

 long and red. The hen should have a very short yellow leg, 

 drooped wings, black flights, white body, tail large, erect and 

 fan shaped, the hen's comb crinkled." Another descript'on 

 tells us there is another variety of White Japanese Bantams 

 in which the cock's tail flows in a sweeping semi-circle. In 

 perfect specimens 

 the center of these 

 feathers is of the 

 deepest glossy 

 black, finely edg- 

 ed or laced with 

 white like the tail 

 of a Silver Pen- 

 c i 1 e d Hamburg. 

 The latter de- 

 scription v/as re- 

 corded about ten 

 years after the 

 first, showing 

 that at this later 

 date the edged 

 tail was noticed. 

 To-day we have 

 the preference for 



A CLEAR COLORED BIRCHEN GRAY JAPANESE 

 PULLET, 



Bred from the pair that appears on page 36. 



37 



dark slate or black primaries, edged 

 with wOiite. The English standard calls 

 for a black inner web for the wing 

 primaries and secondaries. Both now 

 call for white edge on tail in both sickle 

 and coverts. The English also admit 

 the following varieties at the present 

 time: Black Tailed White, Black, 

 White, Speckled, Buff, Gray, Brown and 

 Cuckoo. 



We present herewith for consideration 

 the description of a pair shown at the 

 Palace Show, as described by an expert:, 

 "Cock, snowy white In feat'lierB of 

 neck, breast, thighs, body and wings, 

 with a black tail; each sickle evenly 

 edged with white; ihis legs and bill 'as 

 yellow as an orange; comb, lobes'' and 

 face as red as blood; when his wings are 

 open they show the black in the under- 

 neath feathers of flights and coverts, 

 and outer surfaces are white. The 

 just like the cockerel and her shape 



A GROUP OF JAPANESE BANTAMS. 



The little White Pullet to the left was the result of a cross of a Gray Japanese Male with a Buff 

 Cochin Bantam Hen, illustrating a reversion to the Black Tailed White Japanese. 



but the upper 

 hen is colored 

 is like his." Why we should prefer the dark slate color for 

 primary markings can hardly be told. Why should slate 

 colored wing markings be preferred in these when it is not 

 allowed in Light Brahmas, both being white with black 

 markings? The comb of a Japanese is quite prominent and 

 beautiful, usually fine in form and well serrated. The face, 

 ear-lobes and wattles are quite uniform and handsome. A 

 well formed Japanese female is a very quaint looking bird, 

 the short legs, drooped wings and long tail being so very 

 different from any other fowl, and when they move about 

 they look almost as if they were sliding along. 



No variety of fowls breeds more true than they, their 

 main fault being loss of color in the black feathers and de- 

 fective lacing. To ray notion the most attractive of all Jap- 

 anese is the pure black. This color seems to flt their size 

 and form better than the white with black tails. They are 

 also to be had in solid white, buff, gray and brown of various 

 shades. The most popular varieties are the Black Tailed 

 Whites, pure Black and pure Whites. 



The flrst importation of Black Tailed Whites into this 

 country were quite oversized birds in comparison with those 

 we now have. The first importation of real quality in Jap- 

 anese Bantams, we believe, should be credited to Mr. J. D. 

 Nevius, of Philadelphia, who has at different times had large 

 consignments of Black Tailed Whites, pure Black, White and 

 Grays of superior quality. The flrst really flne specimens 



seen by the writ- 

 er were in his 

 yards. 



Black Tailed 

 Whites are the 

 best known with 

 us. To breed 

 them to perfec- 

 tion is quite an 

 art. The proper 

 coloring of body, 

 wings and tail 

 must be closely 

 watched to pre- 

 vent them fading 

 o r encroaching 

 upon forbidden 

 ground. The rich 

 yellow color of 



