The original of the Bantam is, as has been already remarked, the Bankiva fowl. The small white, and also the colored Bantams, whose legs are heavily feathered, are sufficiently well-known to render a particular description unnecessary. Bantam-fanciers generally prefer those which have clean, bright legs, without any vestige of feathers. A thorough-bred cock, in their judgment, should have a rose comb; a well-feathered tail, but without the sickle feathers; full hackles; a proud, lively carriage; and ought not to exceed a pound in weight. The nankeen-colored, and the black are the general favorites. [Illustration: THE BANTAM.] These little creatures exhibit some peculiar habits and traits of disposition. Amongst others, the cocks are so fond of sucking the eggs laid by the hen that they will often drive her from the nest in order to obtain them; they have even been known to attack her, tear open the ovarium, and devour its shell-less contents. To prevent this, first a hard-boiled, and then a marble egg may be given them to fight with, taking care, at the same time, to prevent their access either to the hen or to any real eggs. Another strange propensity is a passion for sucking each other's blood, which is chiefly exhibited when they are moulting, when they have been known to peck each other naked, by pulling out the new feathers as they appear, and squeezing with their beaks the blood from the bulbs at the base. These fowls being subject to a great heat of the skin, its surface occasionally becomes hard and tightened; in which cases the hard roots of the feathers are drawn into a position more nearly at right angles with the body than at ordinary times, and the skin and superficial muscles are thus subjected to an unusual degree of painful irritation. The disagreeable habit is, therefore, simply a provision of Nature for their relief, which may be successfully accomplished by washing with warm water, and the subsequent application of pomatum to the skin. [Illustration: BANTAM.] Bantams, in general, are greedy devourers of some of the most destructive of our insects; the grub of the cock-chafer and the crane-fly being especial favorites with them. Their chickens can hardly be raised so well, as by allowing them free access to minute insect dainties; hence, the suitableness of a worn-out hotbed for them during the first month or six weeks. They are thus positively serviceable creatures to the farmer, as far as their limited range extends; and still more so to the gardener and the nurseryman, as they will save various garden crops from injuries to which they would otherwise be exposed. The fowl commonly known as the Bantam is a small, elegantly-formed, and handsomely tinted variety, evidently but remotely allied to the game breed, and furnished with feathers to the toes.