242 
THE POULTRY BOOK. 
the present Sir Thomas Sebright himself. It was about the year 1800 that the 
late Sir John Sebright began to fashion the Sebright Bantam. The first cross 
was between a common Bantam and the Polish fowl. The chickens resulting 
from this alliance were bred in-and-in until the required markings and size were 
secured. Sir John then accidentally found a hen-tailed Bantam cock in the country 
where he was travelling. This short-tailed bird he in-bred with his newly manufac- 
tured Bantams, thereby giving their progeny the present form of the square tail. 
Sir Thomas is quite satisfied that it was the Polish, and not the Golden Pheasant 
(now named the Spangled Hamburgh), with which the Bantam was first crossed. 
I thought, in my inexperience, that the top-knot and beard of the Polish could 
hardly have been got rid of ; but the last two seasons alone have been sufficient 
to show me how easy it is to get rid of these appendages. Thus, last year, I 
had a young cock bird with a beard, and also with a crest of feathers behind 
a somewhat irregular rose-comb. This bird was bred from a Polish cock and 
one of Sir Thomas Sebright’s Bantams. This year I crossed this young cock 
with a Golden Pheasant hen, and obtained three chickens, all cocks. One of 
these is quite free from both beard and crest, and with a fine rose-comb and good 
wattles ; the other two have no crests, but have some beard, fine rose-comb, and 
small wattles.’ 
“ This account, I think, may be regarded as putting the question at rest, for I 
do not see that we can have any higher authority on the subject ; and I must say 
that I feel a considerable amount of pleasure in having been the channel through 
which this interesting fact has been made known.” 
Sebright Bantams are of two varieties. Golden and Silver-laced. In the first 
the ground-colour is of a rich golden tint ; in the second it should be a pure 
silvery white ; every feather should be perfectly laced — that is, edged with a line 
of black, completely encircling the feather. 
One of the most remarkable characteristics of the Sebright cock is the total 
absence of the usual haclde and saddle-feathers common to the sex ; he is also 
perfectly hen- tailed or devoid of arched sickle-feathers ; the principal feathers 
being nearly straight, and forming a square tail like that of the hen. The tail 
side-coverts are well developed ; and great stress is laid on their being perfectly 
laced, as in no part of the plumage is the colour more apt to run. The comb in 
show birds must be double, terminating in a well-formed point ; while the legs and 
feet are required to be blue, and wholly free from the least appearance of feathers. 
The feathers on the head are apt to appear dark, from the wider margin of the 
lacing ; this, however, should be avoided, since a main point of the Sebright is the 
preservation of the same proportion of ground-colour and lacing throughout the 
whole of its plumage. The ear-lobe is small, and, in our opinion, should be white ; 
but this is rarely, if ever, seen. Mr. Hewitt thus alludes to this point : — In the 
Sebright Laced Bantams I have yet to see a specimen in which the ear-lobe is per- 
fectly white ; for, although so many have been bred by myself in the last twenty 
years, all that I have ever yet had were either more or less blushed, or perfectly red 
