The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1881-10-27

Dear reader, did you ever wrestle with I
hen that had wild, uncomfortable desire
to incubate9 Did you ever struggle on. day
after day, trying tolconvince her that hei
mission was to furnish eggs for your table
instead Of lowering oil day on door-knoh
and trying to hatch out litter OF front
| doors?
William II. Root Of this place. who has
made the hen study, both in her home
life. and while lying in the embrac Of
death, has struck upon an argument which
the average hen will pay more attention to
than any other he has discovered in his 70.
searches. He says the modern hen ignores
almost everything when she once gets no.
tion that she has received a call TO incu.
bate. You can deluge her with the garden
hose, or throw umbrellas at her, or change
her nest, but that don't count with the firm
and stubborn hen. You eau take the eggs
out of the nest and put booded bulldog
or nest of new laid bumble- bees in place
of them, and she will hover over them as
assiduously as she did before. William
H. Roots hen had shown some signs Of
this mania, 80 he took out the eggs and let
her try her incubator on horserake awhile
SO she could taper of gradually and not
have her mind shattered. Then he tried
her at Matching out four tined forks, and
at last her taste got so vitiated that she
took the contract to furnish the country
with bustles by Matching out an old hoop.
skirt that had gone to seed. Mr.. Root
then made an experiment. We wero ono
Of board Of scientists who assisted on the
consultation. Tho owner Of the hen got
strip OF red flannel and tied it round her
tail. The hen seemed annoyed as soon as
she discovered it. No hen likes to have a
sash hung on her system that does not
match her complexion. A seal brown hen
with red flannel polonaise don't seem to
harflionizo, and she is aware OF II Just as
much as anybody is That hen seemed to
have thought of something all at once that
had escaped her mind before, and 80 she
went away. She stepped about nine feet at
lick and gained time as she proceeded.
When she bumped her nose against the
stable door she changed her mind about
her direction. She altered her course q
little, but continued her rapid style Of
movement Her eye began to look wild.
She seemed to be losing her reason. She
got 80 pretty soon that she didn't recog.
nize the faces Of friends. She passed Mr..
Root without being able to distinguish
him from q total stranger. These peculiar
movements were kept up during the en-
tire afternoon, till the hen got so fstigued
that she crawled into length Of stovepipe
and the committee retired 10 prepare re.
port. II is the opinion Of the press that
this is triumph OF genius in the line OF
hen culture. II is not severe, though firm
in its treatment, and while it OF course
annoys and unmans the hen, temporarily
it is salutary in its results and at the same
time it furnishes pleasant little matinee
for the spectators. We say 10 those upon
whose hands time hangs heavily these long
days, that there is nothing that soothes tho
rntB ed mind and fills the soul with glad
thrill Of pleasure like the erratic move.
ments Of a decorated he9 1t may not be
a high order Of enjoyment, but it affords
great deal Of laugh to those who are not
very accomplished. and those who laugh
at things and then consider propriety
-LDnnie boomerang.