National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-05-22
APIPER ON CHICKENS.
BY BEN SPINNER, OF THE FOURTH
WARD SCHOOL.

rFrom the Louisville CourIer-J0urnh.J
Most usually it takes two eggs for to make a
chicken, because, if you will put eighteen eggs
under hen, only about nine Of 'em will hatch
A hen is so careless AMI stubborn that most
always she won't cover her eggs all over, and
so they get chilled; then they are eyerlsstingly
gone up. Also, the rats will rob nest; SO
that, if you get half brood, 1t Ia 9 tol'sble
crop. and you should be thankful. Then,
think, it stands to reason this ought to prove
what l said at first. A hen, which has got q
young family, Is much more crosser than any
thing else which can be compared with her
under the sun In the United States. There
never was q thing which can rufhe its feathers
up backwards and rage worse than fool hen.
A turkey go6bler will do it, but he don't 60 all
into a red-hot passion about 1t, and make
fool of hisself, and get enemies
all for nothing like a hen would.
A chicken in the spring-tine which was put
to hatch in March, if It has good luck and don't
die of the dip, or gaps, or the cholery- morbus,
or get drownded or something, will be big
enough to sell to the restaurant about In June.
more popular where It is spring chicken than
If It would live long enough to get as tough as
Methuseler. They say that spring chicken is
luxurious thing for to broil and mix up with
toast. That's what have heard. Once In q
great while we have spring chickens for dinner.
Then we have the preacher or else some CON-
pany, and eat at the second-handed table,
and / can always tell BY the Ssyory smell q
going on In the kitchen that broiled chicken
ought to be good enough for anybody. But
II can't get something to eat more substan-
taller than smell, always fall back on roast
beef. 4 chicken don't gather shrewdness like
Q owl, and II never picks up any wisdom. 1t
Is not o talented thing like q fox. If you can
show me more stupider thing than hen, 1
wish you would trot her out. The rooster has
got what little sense there ever was In the
family. 1t is one of the worst difficulties
with chicken that she don't know
its place. She won't stay In the barn
yard, where she belong, any way you
can fx IT, If your mother has got iower-beds
in the front yard-and it's mighty curious
mother which sin't-every last chicken on the
place will get In to scratch them, II it takes till
next Christmas; and then goodbye to the hya-
cinthes and crocuses, and ierryranthens and
all that kind of foolishness. Thenit is the time
you want to have two jackets on or else forget
to come home early If 1t was you which left
the lattice gate open. Anyhow, that's my ad-
vice. Also, q hen is hard-hearted and cruel,
and will Kill every little desolated stray chicken
who tries to associate with her own brood, and
this Is good enough reason why she is like q
stepmother. II a hen once gets fair hold Of
little chicken to shake 1t by the nape of the
neck it will never kick again In this community
more than twice. The frequentest bad habit
which hen has got is going off to the neigh
bors to lay; also Il Is too soft q thing for the
neighbors; but 1t is generally chronic for a hen
to do it, and the only way for to cure her is to
cut her head off and boil her down into soap.
She won't go to the neighbors to lay many
times after that, don't think.