THE BANTAM FOWI., 



23 



to have a nicely striped hackle and saddle on the male, but 

 prefer him mottled considerably on breast and fluff. You 

 will remember when the females were quite brown, but now 

 you see quite often a nice silver gray hen with scarcely any 

 brown, and I believe this has been brought about by light 

 colored males and breeding in. I never have dared buy a 

 male because I did not know his breeding, and unless you 



- do know how a male was bred he would probably spoil the 

 color of your females. 



"I give you a little experience. Last season I found my 

 males had poor hackles and saddles, so much so that I was 

 compelled to buy a male. I mated him, but you may be 

 sure I had other matings of my old stock. I did not expect 

 to get any well penciled pullets from the new cockerel and 

 I was not disappointed. Cockerels are good, and an im- 

 provement, but the pullets are way oft. Now, I do not care 



"What the breeder says about the breeding of the cockerel, 

 and I did not ask him a word. I know he was not bred out 

 of nicely penciled females. But you take this cock (now) 

 and mate him with nice shaped females with little or no 

 penciling and you will get splendid cockerels. I said I never 

 dared mate to breed cockerels, because they would be good 

 for nothing as breeders and one might be tempted to breed 

 them because they would be so handsome, and thus lose 

 years in breeding penciling in females. I see no way for you 

 to do only to breed the Dark Brahma Bantam and select 

 each year the lightest colored- cockerels and, what I call, 

 work them up. You can do it, but it will take time. Part- 

 ridge Cochins are the same as Dark Brahmas in breeding." 



DARK BRAHMA BANTAM BREEDING. 

 BY H. A. MANSFIELD. 



Mr. H. A. Mansfield, of "Waltham, Mass., writes me as 

 follows : 



"Yours of the 18th at hand, asking me how I would pro- 

 ceed to bring Dark Brahma Bantams to as fine color and 

 markings as shown in my best specimens of standard Dark 

 Brahmas. In reply I must say that I would never expect 

 to accomplish that while at the same time I was trying to 

 dwarf them in size to Bantams. I have had twenty years 

 of experience in breeding Dark Brahmas exclusively. I have 

 tried many experiments and made careful note of the suc- 

 cesses and failures not only my own, but those of others. 

 Long ago I discovered that quite as much dependsi on the 

 care and feeding, and locality where they are grown, as on 

 the stock they are from. I have had birds raised in differ- 

 ent localities, all from eggs from my very best hens, but to 

 see them in the fall one would suppose them from as many 

 different strains. Those raised on poor soil without plenty 

 of, shade, and perhaps poorly fed, would be a sorry lot, not 

 one in a dozen that I would not be ashamed to have seen 

 in my own yards; while another lot of the same age would 

 have a fair amount of fine specimens, j 



"Every year I have raised two or three dozen at home, 

 where they have had the best care I, could give them, and 

 among these few I have always founid my best birds. It 

 seems strange, but it has always bee>n my experience that 

 whenever chicks are stunted they have invariably been bad 

 in shape and worse in color. Hence I say I would never 

 expect to get such color on birds that have been hatched 

 very late and starved to make them small as I would on 

 birds encouraged from the egg to make strong, vigorous 

 specimens. The same care and food that make flesh make 

 -feathers. I have never raised a bird that was a cripple or 

 stunted in size that was good in pluniage. If you succeed 

 in establishing a strain of Dark Brahma; Bantams that are 

 as fine in color and markings as is often seen in the standard 



Dark Brahmas, you will have accomplished a great feat, 

 and will be entitled to your reward. I appreciate your 

 ambition." 



DOUBI^E MATING DARK BRAHMA BANTAMS. 



Mr. John A. Warner, of Niskayuna, N. Y., writes on this 

 subject as follows: 



"In order to mate for pullets I take a mottled breasted 

 cock or cockerel with hens or pullets. This cock must have 

 a good silver hackle, good dark under-color, and no red in 

 wings. For cocks I take a dark-breasted cock or cockerel, 

 silver hackle, good under-color, no red in wings, and free 

 from white feathers in the toes and legs when they can be 

 so obtained. For pullets you want the hens rather dark. 

 These are the points I use. 



BUFF BRAHMA BANTAMS- 



Below are facts regarding the origin of Buff Brahma 

 Bantams as given by Mr. F. A. Roppleye, of Farmers, N. Y. : 

 He secured from Mr. Putnam, of "West Sutton, Mass., some 

 cross-bred Bantams, the result of a cross with Golden 

 Sebrights and Buff Cochin Bantams, some of them almost 

 perfect in Brahma markings. The best of these females he 

 bred with one of his standard sized Buff Brahma males and 

 produced- fine specimens of about three pounds weight. 

 These were crossed with some birds produced by crossing 

 Sebrights, Japanese, Silkies and Buff Cochin Bantams. 

 These crosses produced better Pea Combs and Brahma mark- 

 ings than the other. The offspring of these crosses have 

 been improved by selecting the most perfect specimens and 

 breeding them together until the proper size and marking 

 for a. Buff Brahma Bantam are his reward. 



PEKIN OR COCHIN BANTAMS. 



The five varieties of Cochin Bantams are the most 

 attractive .of all Bantam breeds. Their beautiful form and 

 colors and hardy constitution make them the most desirable 

 as a general purpose Bantam, giving them a commercial 

 value, as well as fancy. They are very prolific layers of 

 rich, high flavored eggs, and their plump little bodies make 

 ' either a broiler or a pheasant, when needed for special occa- 

 sions. 



One of the marked differences is the deep or reddish 

 color of the male as compared to the female Buff Cochin 

 Bantam. This was the natural color as they came from 

 , China. The proper way to breed them to conform with their 

 natural condition is red males to the lighter colored females. 

 This kind of mating reproduced of their kind. 



The red color of the male should not be encouraged by 

 preference; rather should a good, sound buff in both male 

 and female have the favored pl^ce. If the standard would 

 demand small size in all varieties, a pure buff, black, white, 

 or partridge color, as it may be, with no foreign color in 

 either, we would soon have all varieties conforming to one 

 uniform standard for shape by adopting a proper form and 

 holding to it. The size and weight of Pekins, as in all Ban- 

 tams, should be about one-fifth of the size and weight of the 

 large or standard breed of the same variety. "We believe 

 this is the English rule on all Bantams, and it might be a 

 'good rule for us to follow. Do not, however, for one moment 

 fall into the grave error of thinking that the ?njaller the bet- 

 ter for all Bantams. This has gone too far already with 

 some varieties. All Bantams should be as small as the law 

 of nature will alJofv an4 still maintain their form and vigor. 



