New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-05-14
a Dish of Poultry.


As had wish to be fashionable, decided to
set up poultry yard.
There is one disadvantage in being married if
single, you can say you will do thing, and do it
if married, you may assert what you please, but
you will find that you cannot do it without reser-
walton.
In this particular instance Of keeping poultry,
my husband, WHO'S practical man, made a reser.
walton:
{" 1 have no objection, provided you make it pay
and promise me fresh egg every morning of this
year"
set to work to find out how to make it pay, and
came to the conclusion that, to do So must be
| poultry woman myself.
1t was little irksOme at first to get up at six
| O'Clock in the morning but comfurted myself by
remembering that in the pursuit of fashion people
| did many more disagreeabe things than that
| Indeed, soon began to like it; and if chose to
try and describe the beauty Of dewy morning,
am pretty sure would not know where to end
| for every morning there something fresh to
admire,
Making my poultry pay, involved another regu
| latOn. ! could not pretend to make my name ia
| nous by some wonderful breed Of new fowls, and
| provide my husband with fresh egg every morn
ing of his life. ! musthave breeds Of all sorts and
kinds to do that. So found myself, at the end of
a year, surrounded by plenty Of poultry, Of every
| sort size, and description. Moreover, they in
interested me extremely. ! used to take chair,
| sit down among them, and study their characters
Setting aside their little pecuarties as birds,
| in which we lived! Each hen had her little pecu-
| liarities, just as each of my female friends had
| their WITNESSES. The feathered cocks were not
| more absurd than many gentleman Of my ac-
| quaintance; and so many likenesses did find in
! my cacklng and Growing company to my visiting
and bowling acquaintance that christened my
cocks and hens after their human prototypes.
could write pages the dispositions and idiosyn-
crasies Of fowls; but intend to confine myself to
two.
Among my various sorts and kinds, ! had one
little golden-laced Hamburg hen, of so elegant
form, 80 beautifully compleXioned, and of such
sweet, engaging manners, that called her Lady
Mary, after certain lovely and beloved young
friend.
Lady Mary made herself the favorite, whether
would or not She was always the first to see me
coming she did notfuss herself, or gobble eagerly
after food, but flew on to rail; as passed that
rail, she flew into my hand From it She daintiiy
helped herself out of the tin of food During the
whole process of feeding, she remained on my
hand or shoulder, looking down on the greedy
crowd below with lofty disdain.
Had she any grievance to communicate to me,
she few upon my hat and made onslaughts on it.
| thus understood the water was not fit for her to
drink or that some one had been daring to use her
nest, or that she had serious thoughts Of laying
egg. She was immensely tussy about her nest
l going in and out Of it, peering at me- as if was
perfectly aware of all her wants. In her nest
had put little gallene egg, by way of nest egg,
thinking the size of it would be about the size OF
her own egg. Not bit of it. In her various trials
of all the nests about, she had come upon one with
an added turkey egg in it, by way of a nestegg.
understood as well as possible, that though Lady
Mary's nest was made Of chopped straw, unlike all
the others, aud though | had put grating so that
few but hersef could get into it, she never woult
be satisfied, or lay an egg comfortably, until she
had the added turkey egg substituted for the gal
lenes egg. Readers, you have not often met
friend similarly Whimsical, with everything in the
world but one little trihe the possession of neigh
9 Dor! Lady Mary immensely delighted wber
she had the turkeys egg gwen her. In hen Ian
10 nl Dyur Ipa,s
gently laid a little tiny egg by it, almost every
? other day.
t My other historical " fowl was also hen
e A heavy, short-legged, stupid-lookiug creature
with little Polish blood in her veins for she hat
e shabby-looling topknot of feathers on her head
4 that never would arrange itself straight Like an
u old dowager, who thinks the family diamonds viii
make amends for the dyed satin gown, this old her
! taucied her tOp-knOt patent Of nobility ant
a she strutted about as if queen of the yard. Sh,
it reminded me very much of an old great aunt O
e mine, whose head-gear was the one worry of he
lite and the life OF those near her. She thought o
L. what she should put on her head the moment sht
G got up IN the morning; and the wonder if it hat
kept straight all day (Which it never did) occupied
1t her the last thing at night had notion to cal
d my old hen Aunt Deb, but the likeness was to,
Id striking so I christened her Juno. She was stu
pid creature, and pumped her first egg down il
s. the yard but must do her the justice 10 sa,
70 that when once shown a nest, she pertnaciouslI
kept to 1t ever AFTER no matter what state it nigh
IS, be in.
1t, Between Lady Mary and Juno there was nj
love lost the former always 'shied " her a
ed 1t were, Just as if some old fat farmers wife wa
lie being too familiar with young princess. No
a that there was much feeling of any kind in poo
old Juno's breast, She appeared to me solely oc
" cupied in the thought of her topknot Sh
I'D seemed always trying to gaze up at this wonderful
OF structure so that she was always the last to ge
)y any fpod, to be on her perch to do anything.
a. She had eggs with praisewOrthy industry, AM
II she sat upon them like a model mother. In fact
us it appeared to that she was always sitting.
We Though l was the poultry woman, was al
lowed a person not only to clean out the fowl
NJ houses every other day, but also to take care
~ them during any absence of mine. Judith Morga
Vi was the name of my coadiutOr.
Judith" said !, So / am going from home 70
to fowls.''
re q Deed and will, men,"
s. save all the eggs and put them in bran. An
ne hens wanting to sit, set them, and make not
" OF ne, day. Don't forget to set duck eggs a
to s. Deed and l won't. men,"
a. ana mind you call eheerily out to them, an
" deed and will, menu
ID When returned home after three weeks 81
p senee q usually INDUCED myself by not gettin
s. up the hrst morning or s0,) | went down aftt
DteakIasJ 70 inspect my poultry, and hear of the
II welfare. was not surprised that 10 Lady Mar
u met me. Three weeks of disappointment in
II hennlsh nlnd would naturally tend to furgetfu
d. ness. ''-
ia Well Judith, how many eres ~
N "Ihree undered and hgDty-two mem -
10 &: Any hens sttiEg?n
,r Deed, mem, there's old Juno at it aeir. an
l- ting, too,n