THE BANTAM FOWI,. 



61 



SULTAN BANTAMS. 



Sultan Bantams are so much like the Booted Bantams 

 that we will put them in this class for description. The Sul- 

 tan fowl is first mentioned in the Poultry Book of Teget- 

 meier as coming from Turkey in 1854. They are described 

 as being the Sultan, or feather Footed White Polish, resem- 

 bling as they do the White Polish in many ways, having, 

 however, shorter legs and fuller tail equipment, with vultura 

 hooks and leg and toe feathering. They are somewhat 

 smaller than the Polish fowls. The Sultan Bantams are a 

 Sultan Booted Bantam, crossed and reduced by selection; 

 or, in other words, a White Booted Bantam with a crest like 

 a Polish and five toes like the Sultan. 



Our standard recognizes only White Booted Bantams. 

 The Sultan Bantam is not recognized by us. The White 

 Booted Bantam could be made a most attractive variety if 

 carefully bred. We should add the Black variety to our list. 



In breeding these birds, mate together the most perfect 

 specimens you can find, and reduce their size by selecting 

 the smallest each year for breeders. Always use white birds 

 that have white beaks and legs. Never tolerate in your 

 breeding yards any other color than white beaks and white 

 legs for White Booted Bantams, and you will soon establish 

 this as a fixture In your birds. Decide whether you prefer 

 the old style or original Booted Bantam or the new style 

 fashioned after the Japanese form. When this question is 

 decided, use only birds of the desired type. 



NANKIN BANTAMS. 



These little beauties came into notice many, many years 

 ago, and they have taken part in the make-up of more of 

 their kind than any one bird. They are seldom seen in 

 England, and we hardly think a single si>eeimen is owned 

 by any fancier In America at this time. For their descrip- 

 tion, I must depend on the writings of others. 

 CJomb may be single or double, the best of early 

 days had single combs; legs blue. Some had white legs, but 

 my opinion is that the double combs and white legs came 

 from a cross with other birds. When bred in England color 

 of legs and style of comb did not matter so all In one pen 

 were alike. Thus the two competed. These birds were 

 quite neglected until they fell into the hands of game 

 keepers, who use them for rearing partridges. Mr. Cresswell 

 brought them into notice early in the seventies, by exhibit- 

 ing a beautiful pen at the Crystal Palace Show. He pre- 

 ferred the double combs and white legs. I give our readers 

 his description of them: "Size as small as possible, comb 

 single or double, the latter preferred; legs blue or white, 

 the former are preferred, but hard to find; the bir'ds of my 

 original stock had white legs. As long as these birds match 

 in show pens the comb and color of legs are not essential 

 points." 



The cock has an amusing and conceited walk, with 

 flowing sickle, tail and wings almost sweeping the ground. 

 His breast and body are of a deep ginger color; the back, 

 wings, coverts, neck and saddle a rich, orange chestnut; 

 tall, dark chestnut, shading Into black, almost like the 

 original Cochin Bantams in color. The hen's general color 

 i^ a clear buff, like a BufC Cochin. Dark, medium and light 

 cblored birds are found among them. Most of them have a 

 shaded or penciled hackle, but they should be free from this, 

 with tails brown, shading into black at the ends. The un- 

 seen half of primary in both male and female is often black. 

 They are naturally very domestic and tame, excellent layers 

 df good sized eggs and careful mothers for their chicks. 

 They breed very true to form and color. The fact that 

 these birds breed so true to their own type proves their orig- 



inality. If taken in hand by experts of the present day they 

 would soon become a favorite, both for their beauty and 

 sterling qualities. Since writing the above, Mr. John Glas- 

 gow has secured and bred some of these little beauties of 

 most perfect form and feather. 



The Nankin cock is a very deep cinnamon or reddish 

 buff all over, except tail, which shows more or less black, 

 the less the better of course; legs and feet blue, comb, face 

 and lobes red, comb si;igle, eyes red. The hen is similar 

 to the cock in all points except body color, which instead 

 of being cinnamon should be a rich buff. 



In breeding Nankins care should be used in breeding 

 from those birds which are the soundest color throughout, 

 especially in flights and tail; any showing white should be 

 rejected from the breeding pen. 



CUCKOO BANTAMS. 



Cuckoo Bantams, or miniature Scotch Greys, are like 

 our American Dominiques. They have single combs and 

 white legs. They are produced both in Scotland and England 



By Courtesy of '* Poultry " England, 



WHITE BOOTED BANTAMS. 



quite independently. Ano'ther variety of these same birds 

 has been produced by crossing them with Rose Oombs, giv- 

 ing them the rose combs and darker legs. These crosses 

 produce Cuckoo color with rose combs, Andaluslan color 

 and light slate blue color, also both white and black with 

 both styles of combs. These Bantams are almost lost sight 

 of, having been pushed aside by the many new kinds more 

 handsome of form and feather. 



In my boyhood days we had the African Bantam, or 

 Crow chicken, very small and finely built. In form they 

 were very much like the early Games, the male being 

 marked very much like our present Brown Leghorns and the 

 females perfectly black. These little fowls bred as true as 

 sparrows year after year. I bred from the product of the 

 one original pair. They had for their home a big box cov- 

 ered with stiff paper and painted with tar, the roof made of 

 boards to shed the water. Here winter and summer they 

 grew and thrived under conditions that our present fowls 

 could not stand. They had all the corn they could eat, but 

 their size kept just the same. These fowls came by steamer 

 to Philadelphia to a man who had a paper mill. He bred 



