New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1872-11-21


ceedingly tough and stringy old age, and con-
tribute TO the world with great constancy tho
basis Of the current egg-nOgg and the cOtem-
porary custard. The mere surmiso, therefore,
of an extensive and perilOus hen-epidemic is
fTaught with alarm. 1t cOnfrOnts us with
passive phase Of restitution which we have
never contemplated. We could get along
without butter and mill Almost az well as
without eggs and Spring chickens. Life with
out its omelettes and whipped Syllabus, its
SautG q Ia Hafeng0 and Sapr6me de Ia Volatile,
would be a much less interesting pilgrimage
than the thoughtless and the ineOnsiderate
! imagine. IL IS true that so far az we know
the turkey is not yet threatened, and in any
| event wo might fall back upon the solid and
nutritious goose. But neither Of these useful
birds could adequately subserve the many
utilities 20 which the modest hen and her
valuable egg are applied. IL it be true that
her tribes are smitten with the pestilence that
waiketh in darkness the community Will for
the first time keenly appreciate its incOm-
putabe obligations TO that harmless, diigcnt,
and unobtrusive fowl.
Lspredsevidently by the Doultcrers, whose
craft is in danger, or rendered furious and in
coherent by an undlgested omelet sOVgt6, one
of our cotemporaries screamingly denies that
there is anything whatever the matter with
the hens We sincerely trust that there is not
and would much rather believe that this
polite and wary bird had itself spread abroad
the illusory report Of its infirmty in order to
cast the Onus of the ensuing Thanksgiving
upon the ducks and turkeys. But while we
have great respect for the statement OF Om
contemporary, it does not seem to have ey-
hausted inquiry upon the subject, and surely
the poulterers themselves can be considered
competent witnesses only in the case o. the
birds whose carcasses repOse IN attitudes OF
straddling and pOsthumOus discomfort upon
their stalls. We should like TO print au'
thentic reports from the barn-yards OF many
States and counties, if we could get them, and
shall BIO glad to hear from our farming
friendso on the subject If there is nothing the
matter with the chickens all will be thankful.
If there is, it is well that it should be known,
that Science may take the hen in hand as 1t
has taken the horse, and institute a rational
inquiry into the causes of its malady. Nolun-
teer practitioners are already bursting into
print. each with an imaginary diagnosis and
an experimental JClutuys ~ bh'iN WIZ 'N''
world is threatened with the prophy Tactic adj
ministration of physic whether it is needed or
not. One daring and imaginative person,
plunging recklessly intoIpublicity, recommends
to holders Of chickens to dip their heads in
tar, paint their legs with iodine, and hold
them over slow fire till they stop cackllng
This vaporzes the iodine, volatilizes the tar,
and silences the chicken, whether it cures 1t
or not. This the prescriber considers great
point gained in any event, and to those who
like a quiet life perhaps it is.
1t must not be supposed because VIC have
alluded to the hen with some leYity that we
are therefore unmindful of the intrinsic gravity
and Importance of all that concerns its health
and well being. Franklin recommended that
instead Of the predatory and rapacous eagle,
the useful turkey should be imaged upon our
national coins and ensgns. If an emblem OF
utility instead of majesty and potency had
been chosen, it should have been the bam-
yard hen rather than the turkey, the rooster
rather than the gobbler. If it be attacked by
epidemic malady, we will give the widest cir
culation to any intelligent directions for its
relief, and in all ways promote its culture and
ameliorate its condition to Che extent Of our
power