Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1878-11-15
From the Burlington Hawkeye.

From the Burlington llawkeye.
l. Wait until the moon goes down befor,
purchasing your chickens Pullets are al
ways cheaper in the dusky hours that pre-
cede the dawn
: If you buy fancy eggs for Matching. Dc
not buy any that were picked last fall. Hop,
springs eternal III the human breast, but al
egg stays right by the date of its birth and i.
24 hours older and poorer at each succeeding
sunset.
3. Always consult the hen ) convenience in
the matter OF setting. Do not insist on her
breaking any other engagements or putting
off baking or ironing day tor the purpose OF
taking charge of - eggs, OF unknown sex OF
quality Better, far better. that you should
give up society ana set on those eggs your
self, rather tnan entrust them to reluctant
and assembling hen. You might break the
eggs but the tickle hen would break for the
verbena bed the first thing in the morning.
4. Build your nests wide enough for COW
to turn around in. If the nest has an all
outdoor, illImitable-waste kind of a look to
it. when one hen will feel SO lonesome and
lost that she will wall and squawk with ter
ror every time she looks around and feels the
burden of her loneliness upon her all the
wealth Of the Incas couldn't induce another
hen TO go in and keep her company or gos-
sip with her until bed time. But if you
make nest Just big enough for one lean hen
to squeeze into without breathing, the nine
biggest hens in your flock will fight for that
nest and all crowd into it at the same time,
flatten out all the eggs, and then with gloomy
but patient cOuntenances and their several
heads turned in nine different directions,
they will sit on the cold ashes of shattered
ambition and wrecked dreams for the next
four months.
5. Sprinkle sulphur in the nests before the
hen is allowed to enter upon the perform
ance Of her incubation contract. The smell
of the sulphur will prevent the hen from i'm
bibing the pernicious doctrines Of 1ngersol,
and will keep her from assuming too much,
under the impression that a hen that can
produce a dinrnal egg, and from that evolve
living, breathing, scratching chicken, could,
if she would give her mind to it. create uni
verse and people its planets with races of
lying, thievIng, swearing men.
6. Boost the hen off the nest once day
for exercise. Too much sentiment and re-
Election and an excess of self-communion is
apt to make the hen moody and low-spirted.
Point her to the dreadful effects Of too long
continued and unbroken exertion Of the
brain. as shown in the sad fate of Sergeant
Bates and Dennis kearney.
Z. About the time the young chicks are
coming out, borrow a shotgun and tell your
neighbor some scoundrel is shooting cats,
and last night he killed cat that belonged
to your wife that you wouldn't have taken
$50 for. This will pave the way for future
developments. A successful henery is fatal
to q cat brood of thrifty, contented young
chicks is an infallible evidence that you can't
shut your eyes and stick q spade in the
ground anywhere in that precinct without
disturbing the eternal rest of some cat that
has taken parlors on the ground floor of the
windowless palace of rest.
$. If you have no grass plats or kitchen
garden or pansy beds for your chickens TO
range in. cut a hole low down in the fence so
as 10 let your chicks In on your neighbor. 1t
will be perfectly safe since the loss OF his
cat If he says anything about chickens.
tell him tina, you told Forsman (the other
neighbor) that if he wanted to raise chickens
he must do as you do, and keep them shut
up. Do not give your chickens unbridled
liberty, for sometimes a brood Of healthy
chicks go ont in the morning when the dew
on the onion tops glitters In the suhs hine,
and like the baseless fabric of a vision they
pass away. and like the stuff that dreams are
made OF leave not track behind, and all
the tears your burning eyes can shed over
the legs and claws and heads you find in the
alley Will not call them back.
9. In raising fowls for the market, remem-
ber there Is the greatest danger OF sending
them out in an immature state. Chickens
are not healthful food nor do they contain
any of the perfect elements of nutrition. un-
til they are fully and completely developed
physically. Keep them about you, then,
while painting time tolls after them,in vain.
Life is at best but walking shadow, and
your chicks should have at least II years of
home care and training before they rest their
heads for one brief second on the chopplng
block, and 90 to grace the table of the hap
py boarding-house. For any further and
more specific information on this subject.
send three cent stamp and your address.