Black Bantams. 
467 
seem a bit ridiculous ? — he can at least fly over a fence which would puzzle many of us to clear as 
well ; and “ Sartor Resartus ” might have taught us long ago how much we owe to the tailor. Let 
him roost, then, as high as he likes, while we proceed to consider some of the varieties of his race. 
For convenience, we shall take the characteristic breeds of Bantams as known to us alphabeti- 
cally, reserving the large and important division of Game Bantams for a separate chapter, and 
giving special attention to the breeds which are most largely bred and exhibited, and therefore 
demand unusual skill and care from the amateur. 
BLACK BANTAMS. — This is one of the oldest and still most popular Bantam classes, 
though no breed shows more distinctly the increased skill and knowledge of the breeders of the 
present day : for while all the older poultry writers speak of the uncertainty of colour in Black 
Bantam cocks, most of them being described as moulting red or straw-coloured hackles in the 
second or third season, the present strains of these birds, as we know from frequent inspection of 
one of the best, moult as true to colour as any variety whatever. The bird has also been improved 
in shape and carriage, marked advance in these last respects having been made within the last six 
years. In some cases an expedient we have often suggested, of crossing with the Brown-red 
Game Bantam hen, has been employed, to the great gain in several respects ; but latterly 
we have observed almost too evident signs of the cross. Much more, however, has been done by 
careful selection in breeding, and perhaps few have had more to do with the history and improve- 
ment of this variety than Mr. E. Hutton, of Pudsey, Leeds, who has at our request, besides 
general notes on the breed and its characteristics, supplied the following particulars concerning the 
history of his strain, which has been the parent of many others. 
“ I had Black Bantams,” he says, “ more than thirty years ago ; not, however, the breed of the 
present day, nor in some respects even approaching it, for one of the most desirable points then 
was, as in all other Bantams, that the head and tail of the cock should touch when the bird was 
showing himself off, while rose, single, or cup combs were equally valuable, those with single 
combs being termed Game Dandies. From that date up to 1854 I had Bantams of all varieties, 
never, however, losing sight of the Blacks, which were always my special favourites ; and since then 
I have never been without them. Some of the blood of these early birds runs in the veins of those 
I at present possess. They were good in colour and well feathered, with red faces and ear-lobes. 
“ For several seasons I tried by various crosses to improve the breed in style and ear-lobe, 
but with only partial success ; as in nearly all cases, when the ear-lobe was secured, the cockerels 
were more or less spangled on the back and hackle with red or brassy feathers. At last I got 
what I wanted in the White Bantam. White Bantams, with sound white ear-lobes, which were at 
that time plentiful in Yorkshire, have been in fact the most useful agents in the improvement of 
the Blacks, though the White birds produced from the cross have almost always proved useless 
for the production of Whites. 
“ In 1858, for the first time, I ventured upon the introduction of the White blood, by putting 
a good White cock, out of a strain that was at that time very successful at the shows, to several 
Black hens with gipsy faces, combs, and ear-lobes. The chickens from this cross varied much in 
appearance on hatching, some being pure white, and on attaining their adult plumage remaining 
so ; others were smutty grey, turning out ultimately white, with blue legs ; while some were 
perfectly black, but on getting their last feathers came red on the saddle. Others, on hatching, 
were black on the upper parts, but white on the lower jaws, throats, bellies, and ends of the wings. 
These last were the best birds of all when full grown and fledged, remaining sound in colour 
while most of the cockerels had from the cross pretty good ear-lobes. 
