18 



THE BANTAM FOWI,. 



bought tliem from Richard Noah, at the Mill, and I believe 

 he got them from his grandfather, who kept them, so he 

 says, ever since he was a lad." The master did not ask me 

 any further questions that day. This was my first experi- 

 ence, and ultimately I gave up the Spangles in favor pf the 

 modern Black-Reds, which I have kept on and off ever since. 



As an example of the rapid strides the Old English Ban- 

 tam has made, I need only refer to Whitehaven Show of 

 November 11th, 1898, where a Black-Red cockerel which car- 

 ried off first prize was claimed at catalogue price £10, al- 

 though had this bird been seen running about in any of the 

 back yards twelve months previously it might have been 

 bought for eighteen pence. Then at Birmingham Show, 

 three weeks later, the third prize bird was bid up to £11 lis, 

 and which a couple of years ago would not have fetched as 

 many shillings. 



I will now; try and describe what I consider should 

 constitute an ideal Old English Game Bantam. 



Head medium length. Beak strong, slightly curved.. 

 Eye large, fiery red and bold. Comb small and single and 

 of fine texture. Bar-lobes free from white. Face and wat- 

 tles bright healthy red. Neck. fairly long, and well set on 

 between square and prominent shoulders. Neck hackle to 

 come down well onto the shoulders. Chest broad and full. 

 Breastbone straight (this is very important), the breast 

 being firm and well developed. Back short, broad at shoul- 

 ders, and tapering towards the stern. Wings short, first 

 meeting under tail and fitting closely to the body, and should 

 be full, otherwise the bird has the appearance of what is 

 termed fiat-sided. Tail should be directly in opposition to 

 the Modern Game Bantam, viz., main or primary feathers 

 fairly long and strong; sickles broad, good length and nicely 

 bowed, with four or five side-hangers of medium length cov- 

 ering the width of the tail each side. Legs short, thick, 

 muscular in thighs, well set apart; shanks medium length, 

 round in front — not fiat (which shows weakness), and in 

 Black-Reds, Spangles and Blue Duns the color of legs should 

 be white or yellow, white for preference. Toes, fairly long 

 and muscular, straight; the back toe to be carried in a direct 

 line with the middle toe, and should grasp the ground firmly, 

 the point of the toe being fiat on the ground. Carriage, 

 quick and Sprightly, with a bold, defiant look. The bird in 

 the hand should handle hard and firm; the harder the better. 



Points of Color in Black-Reds. — Cocks: Pace and eyes, 

 red; beak, white or y.ellow to match the legs; neck and 

 saddle hackles, bright orangej'ed; back and wing-bow, deep 

 red; breast and thighs, black; wing-bar, blue-black; wing- 

 end' or bay, rich chestnut; tail, glossy black. Although 

 white in tail is to some degree a fault, it should only count 

 against the bird very slightly in the show pen. 



The hen to match this cock should be either partridge 

 or wheaten. The former should be the sam6 as the cock in 

 face, eyes, beak and legs; neck, lemon or light orange, with 

 a" narrow black stripe on each side of the shaft; breast, rich 

 salmon, shading lighter towards the thighs; back and wings, 

 partridge color, or a brownish drab of one even color all 

 over, and free from rustiness and shaftiness; tail, black, 

 except the two top feathers, which should correspond with 

 the body color. The wheaten hen should match the cock in 

 face, eyes, and legs; neck, bright golden; breast and thighs, 

 pale fawn; body and' wings darker shade or wheat color; 

 tail, black, with the top or outer feather tinged with 

 wlieaten. Size: Cocks, 18 to 25 ounces; hens, 15 to 20 

 ounces. 



Spangles. — Both the cock and hen should resemble each 

 other in every respect as to color, viz., face, head and eye, 

 bright red; plumage throughout, black red or blue, evenly 

 spangled with white; tail, black and white; legs, white or 

 yellow. 



Black-Red cocks may either be bred from partridge or 

 wheaten hens. Strange to say, the soundest and brightest 

 colored cocks are to be bred from a partridge hen; if the 

 cock bird is also partridge bred, this is important. Part- 

 ridge bred cocks, as a rule, are much brighter in color than 

 wheaten bred cocks, and are frequently found to be a bit 

 striped in hackle, and it is these bright colored birds that 

 find most favor in the show pen. 



To breed sound colored partridge hens I would proceed 

 on the same line of color as stated in modern Black-Red 

 Bantam pullet breeding, care being taken that your male 

 bird is not wheaten bred. If he is, your labor will be lost. 

 To breed partridge pullets you must have a partridge bred 

 cock bird, and don't you forget it. A wheaten bred cock, 

 with partridge hens, spoils the color in both wheaten and 

 partridge chickens. To breed wheaten hens I should select 

 a good colored wheaten hen and put her to a wheaten bred 

 cock. The cocks from wheaten hens are generally a shade 

 darker than the partridge bred bifds, and are more inclined . 

 to show red in breast more or less. . 



In breeding Spangles I think if even-colored birds are 

 selected on both sides, the produce both in cockerels and 

 pullets will be found satisfactory, as unlike many colors, 

 one pen will be found to produce good specimens of both 

 sexes. Should, however, the chicks come too light in color 

 the following season, I should use a partridge hen, or even 

 a wheaten, although for preference I should use the part- 

 ridge, as partridge bred Spangles always appear to me to be 

 much harder in feather and more taking in color than 

 wheaten Spangles. 



To breed evenly-spangled pullets it is best to use a 

 light colored cock, but as an all around breeder, I should 

 prefer a medium colored, evenly spangled bird. Blue Duns 

 or Blue-Reds are only to be found here and there, although 

 they are quite as pretty as the Black-Reds. In the first 

 place, I think the name Blue Dun hardly correct. The blue- 

 breasted red cocks I would call Blue-Red. These may be 

 bred from blues on both sides, but I think one could hardly 

 know what color to expect in the chicks, as they "sport" 

 all ways, and require very careful breeding to get the color 

 fixed. I have seen , a good blue cock bred from a sound 

 biue-breast'ed cock, and wheaten hen, and I think a pullet 

 could also be bred the same way, or from blues on both 

 sides. A Blue-Red cock can be bred froin a hlae hen and a 

 sound colored Black-Red cock. In fact, they will breed' 

 any way almost, and as color is only a seconijary considera- 

 tion in Old English, Bantams, it is not of very great imppr-- 

 tance how they arfe bred,' provided the proper Shape, type, 

 ajid size are all there. \ 



A little advice, and then I've had my say on this variety. 

 Don't try to breed Old English Game Bantams by crossing 

 with the Modern Game Bantam, for it can't be done; and 

 don't try.aiid palm off a rank waster of a Modern Game 

 Bantam to a judge as an Old English Game Bantam, for 

 that won't wash in 1899, although it did in 1898. If they 

 have got to be Old English, let them be Old English, for 

 there are hundreds of them in the country to-day, and have 

 been for years. 



In judging Old English Bantams, care should be taken 

 to have the proper cobby type, broad in chest, low on leg, 

 firm in breast, and straight in breastbone, strong In head 

 and beak, with a red fearless eye, feet well on the ground, 

 and sound in back toe, with bold but graceful carriage, quick 

 in movements, and ever on the alert. The tail should be 

 full, and the sickles and side hangers of the cock should be 

 fairly long and well curved, not whip-tailed, as is often seen. 

 Dark legs, light eyes, crooke!d breastbones, wry-tailed, and 

 duck-footed, should one and all amount to disqualification. 



P. PROUD. 



