April, 1 9 13 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



RAISING BANTAMS 



By E. I. FARRINGTON 



BANTA'MS are the best of poultry pets. 

 Gentle, tame and companionable, they 

 may be handled freely and will run to 

 meet their young owner at the sound of 

 his voice. They will thrive in very 

 limited quarters, require only a dry goods 

 box for a home and may be fed largely on 

 the scraps from the family table. More- 

 over, they will pay their way by the eggs 

 they lay, and if good stock is kept, it 

 is quite possible for the youthful bantam 

 raiser to make a considerable sum of 

 money each season by selling eggs for 

 hatching purposes or by selling chickens 

 and mature birds to other fanciers. In- 

 deed, there is no reason why entries 

 should not be made at the local poultry 

 show, with a possibility of winning prizes, 

 which always creates a demand for one's 

 stock. 



Many bantams are really pocket 

 editions of the larger breeds and weigh 

 just about one fifth as much, so that the 

 weight of some kinds is reckoned by 

 ounces rather than by pounds. The 

 Cochins, Brahmas and Plymouth Rocks, 

 for example, are perfect miniatures of the 

 breeds which bear these names. There 

 are other varieties, however, which have 

 a place only in the bantam category. 

 Fanciers in China and Japan have been 

 breeding bantams for many centuries 

 and some of the best known sorts have 

 come from these far off countries, but 

 newer varieties have been created in this 

 country and in England, where bantams 

 are highly popular. 



Most popular of all bantams in America 

 and the best for the boy to start with 

 are the Cochins, sometimes called Pekins, 

 the latter name suggesting their origin. 

 There are four varieties commonly 

 bred — White, Black, Buff, and Partridge 

 Cochin bantams, all four handsome, 

 stylish and aristocratic in appearance. 

 Their legs are heavily feathered and so 

 short that the birds hardly seem to have 

 any legs at all. The hens are good layers 

 and the eggs are larger than might be ex- 

 pected quite large enough, indeed, to be 

 used in the kitchen or on the table. These 

 eggs are unusually rich, too, and highly 

 flavored. 



Which variety to select depends upon 

 personal preference as to color. Prob- 

 ably more Buffs are raised than any other 

 kind, for the rich, heavy and glossy plum- 

 age is most attractive. The White 

 Cochins make a fine appearance on the 

 lawn, ?jut the feathers of the Blacks do 

 not show stains as plainly as those of 

 the lighter varieties. 



A Cochin bantam rooster is always a 

 delight, so alert, proud and saucy is he, 

 strutting about in the most comical man- 

 ner when there are visitors and always 

 ready to defend his honor or his mates, 

 even to the point of doing battle with a 

 cock bird five or six times his size. It 

 would be difficult to find a more friendly 



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about a 



Suburban Home 



will do more than any other one thing to make 

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 with the landscape; and they improve with 

 exposure. Unless a great deal of money is 

 spent upon wood, it deteriorates and looks 

 shabby. Concrete costs nothing for repairs — 

 is fireproof, vermin proof, sanitary. 



If you have stables, garages, porches, side* 

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 on your place, write us for full information about 

 the use of concrete, its cost and desirability. You 

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Concrete Surfaces Concrete in the Country 



Small Farm Buildings of Concrete 



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