THE BANTAM FOWL. 



25 



Irom our country, writes of them as follows: "One great 

 "point we value most highly, and we think our English 

 "breeders will not be long in recognizing, is the sound, even 

 ■color insisted upon by the Americana. They say: 'A Buft 

 must be a buff, perfectly free from any dark shade in fluff 

 ■or fleece of feather, buff under the wing when expanded, 

 buff in all the tail and foot feathers.' A bronze tail is con- 

 sidered a blemish, and the Americans do not allow such 

 faults to be, hidden or disguised by pulling out the faulty 

 feathers." These words are quite complimentary to our 

 ability to breed good color and should be strictly adhered 

 to. If all judges will continue to refuse to place awards on 

 coops containing specimens that plainly show evidence of 

 being plucked, whether Bantams or any other kind of 

 -fowls, in a very short time none of this kind would appear, 

 and all would buy or breed the right or standard forms and 

 ■colors. 



We will refer to a few points of difference between our 



standard and the English. Plumage of Cochin Bantams 



■with them is so described: "Very abundant, long and quite 



soft; the fluff which grows between the saddle 



and thighs so full as to hide the latter; weight, 



thirty-two to thirty-six ounces." The cut of an 



English cock will illustrate this. This feather 



formation and full breast make them look very 



■-Short of leg. Their demand for general shape 



-and carriage is as follows: "Broad, deep, plump 



and well rounded; the carriage bold, rather 



-forward, but low, the head being not much 



higher than the tail." The .weights are in the 



proporttion demanded for all Bantams, one-flfth 



of the regular CJochin. This Is the same in our 



■standard for females, but for males we demand 



less weight than one-fifth. 



Nature has declared for the Buff Cochin 

 Bantams in their natural staite that the males 

 shall be of richer and darker color than the fe- 

 males. When mated, the females, if several 

 -shades lighter color than the male, will produce 

 • females of their own color and males like their 

 sire. A light colored male bred to females of o^- 

 his own color produces better males than fe- 

 m^ales. The latter will be much paler of color 

 than the mother's. This has been overcome 

 somewhat by the cross with the large Cochins. 



The color of the BufC Pekin, whether male or female, 

 must be pure and true, whether of a light or dark shade. 

 We began two years ago to work for the proper buff shade 

 •for both males and females, using a light colored male with 

 a hen whose breast color was the same shade as the breast 

 of the male. Two cockerels from this mating won first and 

 second at New York in January, 1897. One of the same lot 

 ieaded first pen at the same show. In getting this color 

 we have lost some in the color of females, also in under- 

 color of both male and female. This year, 1897, we have 

 used these males on the best colored females and feel satis- 

 fied with the result, as the young stock shows much im- 

 provement, many of the males being an even golden buff 

 throughout, and the females are much better than last 

 season. 



In the English Bantam Club's Year Book, Ethel A. 

 Southam, writing on the Pekin Bantam, the name which the 

 English fanciers seem to cling to, says: 



"A good many years have elapsed^ — still how recent it 

 seems — since the days when the phenomenon of a Pekin Ban- 

 tam in the show pen was regarded as quite an event, yet now 

 we number our entries by hundreds! There is no doubt 

 they are one of the most popular varieties of the Lilliputian 



breeds, and this is principally owing, not only to their pre- 

 possessing appearance, but to the singular docility and tame- 

 ness of their disposition. They are so wonderfully contented 

 —the lowest fence will generally keep them safely within 

 bounds, and even if allowed an unlimited range, they seldom 

 stray far beyond the immediate vicinity of their own house, 

 thus rendering it possible to keep several pens of brids in 

 one field or paddock without any risk of interference from 

 their respective neighbors. 



"Then, again, they require so little preparation before 

 entering the lists for competition^ beyond keeping the foot 

 feather in good condition, and preserving — in the case of 

 Bulfs and Whites— the color of the plumage, there is really 

 scarcely anything else to be done. The manipulation to 

 which so many breeds have to be subjected, the skillful 

 training which is absolutely necessary ior their deportment, 

 and last, but by no means least, the ghastly process called 

 "dubbing," all this is happily unknown to the Pekin. 



"With regard to their points, the characteristics of our 

 old familiar friend, the Cochin, should be faithfully repro- 



"Tj/el'iABL £ POOL TKY JOIJIinnL 



BUFF COCHIN BANTAMS. 



duced, in almost every detail, in miniature. To describe 

 them briefly, the ffead* should be small and neat, with a per- 

 fectly upright comb, as "smooth and fine in texture as possi- 

 ble, the beak short and rather parrot like in shape, and the 

 eyes round and full. The neck of the cock should be short 

 and nicely curved, with an abundance of hackte flowing well 

 over the shoulders and back, the breadth of the latter being 

 almost out of proportion to the size of the bird. The tail 

 should rise without the slightest angle from the saddle, 

 forming one unbroken line, and the ends of the small winga 

 should be clipped closely to the sides, where they will be 

 partially buried in fluff. Again, the breast, very broad and 

 prominent, and the inordinately short legs' set well apart, 

 and feathered heavily to the very end of the middle toe— all 

 this should give the cobby, Cochiny appearance which now 

 may be seen to such perfection in the best Pekins. 



"If the birds are to make any name in the show world, 

 too much attention cannot be paid them at the outset of 

 their career — the feeding and rearing of Bantam chickens 

 being perhaps a feature in itself. The problem is, how to 

 give them enough food to bring them up through the trying 

 struggles of chickenhood, without nourishing them to such 

 an extent, that a few months hence they will be mistaken 



