22 



THE BANTAM FOWL. 



DARK BRAHMA BANTAM COCK, SULTAN. 

 BRED BY MR. BUTTERWORTH. 



up" necessary for 

 the show pens. 



The Dark Brah- 

 ma Bantam cock 

 should have head 

 feathers of good, 

 clear white, d i s- 

 tinctly striped with 

 black, the stripes 

 getting wider down 

 to the shoulders 

 and back. The back 

 and wing bow 

 should be clear 

 white, well striped 

 with black, and the 

 sitripes increasing 

 in width on the tall 

 coverts. The breast, 

 thigh, fluff, shank 

 and foot feathers 

 should be as black 

 as possible. The 

 tail is black, but a 

 narrow white edge 

 to the sickles is 

 by many judges, 

 black; wing-bars, 

 green; shanlcs as 



considered a point in their favor 

 The wing-butts and shoulders are 

 tail coverts and side sickles, beetle 

 yellow as possible, generally a dusky yellow; beak, horn- 

 colored; comb, wattles and lobes, bright red; the comb 

 small and triple; eyes, red. Hen, white on head and evenly 

 striped with rich black on her hackle. The tail should be 

 black, slightly marked with gray, the rest of the body one 

 shade of slate gray, with dark, almost black, pencillngs. 

 There are often other shades of gray in the winners, but the 

 slate gray birds I find retain their colors longer than those 

 with light ground color. The Brahma Bantam is quite dis- 

 tinct from the Cochin, and must be active, lively and spir- 

 ited. 



ENGLISH LIGHT BRAHMA BANTAMS. 



We owe this Introduction into our poultry yards to the 

 same source as the Darks, as they wer^ manufactured at the 

 same time, and I know of no other strain than the ones in 

 England, although having been in the hands of various 

 breeders for some years, who having different ideas as to 

 what they should have, have changed them so much that 

 they now look like distinct strains when they meet at the 

 exhibitions. Light Brahma Bantams are much easier to 

 breed than the Darks, although not so taking to the eye of 

 many fanciers. They are certainly easier to meet with, as 

 the Darks are now very scarce indeed. Light Brahma Ban- 

 tams should be exact copies of their larger brothers and sis- 

 ters in miniature, with the exception that they should be 

 shorter in leg and neck. These points are of great import- 

 ance, as they give the Bantam "make-up" required. 



In mating for show cockerels a perfect colored show 

 cockerel very sharp and dense in his hackle markings, 

 mated with a hen very pure in her white and in hackle 

 rather deficient in marking for the show pen, will breed 

 what you require. 



For the production of show pullets you require a per- 

 fect colored hen very sharp and intensely black in her hackle 

 striping, mated with a cockerel lightly striped in hackle 

 and a good, clear white. If you follow this advice you will 

 get both cockerels and pullets that are good, typical speci- 

 mens in color. 



The Light Brahma Bantam cock should have a pur& 

 white head, a pure white hackle, the lower part distinctly 

 striped with black, the breast, shoulders, wing, back and 

 thighs pure white. The fluff is white, but often the under 

 fluff is gray, and such specimens are very useful in the 

 breeding pen when the hackles are growing weak in striping. 

 The saddle is generally slightly striped, but this should only 

 be lightly marked, and not too much of it. The primaries 

 and secondaries should show black on their inside when the 

 wing is opened. The outer feathers of the tail should be 

 slightly edged with white and it is in the bird's favor if the 

 sickles are also laced with white. The toes, shanks and 

 scales should be bright yellow or orange, also the beak. 



The hen should have a pure white head and very darkly 

 striped hackle; breast, thighs, -wings and body all pure 

 white, the primaries and secondaries showing black, like 

 the cock, the tail black, with white lacing or edging on the 

 upper feathers. The strongest birds have always bright red 

 eyes and are to be preferred to the yellow-eyed ones. 



R. BUTTERWORTH. 



EXPERIENCB WITH DARK BRAHMA BANTAMS. 

 BY PHILANDER WILLIAMS. 



Just how to bring the Dark Brahma Bantams to the 

 highest perfection of color and penciling is the most impor- 

 tant point. They like the Partridge Cochin Bantam, will be 

 valued in proportion to their high qualities of color and 

 fine finish of penciling. The fine gray color of the Dark 

 Brahma female and the delicate dark penciling must be most 

 perfect in these Bantams or else they are of no value. We lay 

 before our readers the advice of experts who have showik 

 their ability to successfully handle the large specimens. 

 -Below are the words of the time-honored Mr. Philander 

 Williams, of Taunton, Mass., who donates his experience 

 for our use: 



"In regard to Dark Brahma Bantams, I would say L 

 know nothing. Of course, they are produced from a cross, 

 of some varieties and it is evident that they have not been, 

 bred long enough to have the color established. I see no. 

 way to get the color but to breed them together and then 

 select each year such specimens as you think will improve 

 the color. I think the proper way to breed Dark Bantama 

 is by a double mating and breeding in, although I never did 

 this. The reason, I will tell you further on. I always have 

 mated to breed nicely penciled pullets. I have always tried 



r. F. MOGREW'S DARK BRAHMA BANTAM. 



