Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-02-18
KEEP YOUR FOWLS Al ROME.
Mrs. Tomk,ns Has Tried ~ and Mas Found
ont How II Works

Mrs. fomksns Has Tried NJ and HAS Found
ont How II WORKS
So ooDNESs ME! WHAT WAS THAT
~ said ne rvous Mr.. Noodles
The other visitors in the drawing room al
Mrs. romkyns on 2 street it was her dag
looked equally startled.
''oh. thats only my rooster" explained the
hostess. He has a sort Of basso profundo crow
that sounds rather odd TO a stranger"
"lou don't mean 10 say that YOU keep
chickens in your cellar" said Miss Mcrun.
who processes horror Of all kinds Of
animals"
Il confess with reluctance that such Is the
fact" admitted Mr.. Tomsyns However. I
protest that am NOT 60 blame. some time ago
my husband suggested that could get chickens
FOR the table more cheAply BY purchasing them
alive. Furthermore. 1t would thus be possible
TO make sure Of healthy fowls.
- 'Sneezleby. / said. Won know very veil
that il will be a great bother to pluck them.
and know how TO pick ont good chickens
ready dressed.
You can never tell that they may not have
died natural deaths replied NV husband OBJ
stinately. Suppose that whole flock IL car
ned of by an epidemic OF pip Or chicken chol-
era. DO you Imagine that the farmer throws
away the cadayers? Not much He aress.s
and buy them. l tel You that we men know
more about such things than you women do
We'll. my dearr. continued Mrs. Tonkvns
''you know how il is with these men. There 10
no use in arguing with them. because they are
convinced that they know il all about everv-
thing. As usual I Welded. and the next time
| went 10 market bought six chickens all alive.
One OF them CHANGED TO he arooster. was
going to have a pair Of d dinner. bus
my husband insisted that tho Il TO he fat
nod Fsra fan 1a.a haFs, IL
WAS good enough to purchsse peck Of corn
for that purpose. When I suggested that this
method would add considerably 20 the cost OF
the birds by the time they were ready for the
table Mr.. Tomkyns laughed at me in his
superior way.
"'Charlotte.' he said. you give me severe
pains. DO Won not perceive that shall our
selves consume this corn in the shape Of
chicken meat. This process simply mean. thss
we get SO many extra pounds OF chicken for the
price OF so many pounds OF grain
Il asseuted. OF course. There wHs nothing
else TO do. liz was necessary 20 have some place
to keep the chickens in and for this purpose nv
husband had discovered that coop of boards
could easily be constructed against the back %
! the house. The boards cost ~ aud the labor
of a coiored man whom we employed to build
the structure came 20 a. much more. I ven
tured to remark that this Was not n very cheap
| way of buying fowls. but Mr.. Tomkyns wiihered
! me up by asking me il il had not occurred TO
I
number Of chickens in the future.
Women never can see more than six inches
beyond the ends of their noses. he declared
Il did not attempt 10 dispute that PROPOSE
| ton. Long ago L gave up contending with nv
husband that women were OF any practical use
4 in this world except TO take charge Of the
nursery. So the chickens were installed in the
| house built for them and all was supposed to
| be well. That was Just before the recent verv
| cold snap. On the next evening the thermoin-
late Aoxrp nearly 10 nd \
my fears that the chickens would be frozen.
1 81 have been thinking of that, said Mr..
Tomkvns. LAYING down his pipe. We viii pus
them in the cellar for the night.
II pleaded that did not want the chickens
in my nice clean cellar. but it was no use. Nv
| husband asked me il was willing TO let them
| freeze, remarking incidentally that unthinking
| cruelty was especially feminine attribute. OF
| course / abandoned the discussion at once. Mr..
| Tomkyns and the butler carried the fowls into
| the cellar two by two. one under each arm. II
| il had been for that night only would not hsvs
| minded very much but the cold spell con-
tinued. and the same performance had 20 be
/ repeated every evening for about fortnight.
| Meanwhile had suggested that il would be Q
| good plan TO xiii them for the table, but my
| husband insisted that circumstances had been
| uniayorable TO fattening them. owing 20 the
severity of the weather. He thought that 10
would be better to keep them a while longer
4 The supply of corn having been exhausted he
| purchased some more.
'As fof the rooster. which / would gladly
| have got rid Of on account o, lts Growing. my
| husband insisted that he must be kept until the
| last because he was such an interesting bird.
| By this time my children also had taken .
| fancy to the chickens, which they regularly
! fed. They all had names. There Susv,
and Jenny and Nelly. and Betty. and Bessie.
and the cock name was sam. Notwithstand-
ing the precautions taken TO protect them
they all got bad colds and Mr. Tomkyns
called upon me TO administer medical treat
ment This meant that was obliged to poke
an asafetida pill down the throat of each one
of them every night after they had gone TO
roost. | told the cook that they we're certainly
fat enough by this time to be killed. but then
the question arose TO who was going to per-
| form that operation. The butler said no
wouldn't and the cook said that she couldn' Z
Ny children wept when the notion Was eug-
gested and SO began TO perceive that those
dreadful chickens were going TO become a per-
manent affection.
Yesterday afternoon they escaped from the
yard and the butler had TO go out and shoe
| them in again. One of the hens few mp on to
the roof over the kitchen, which is only one
story high, and the Others, together with the
rooster. followed her example. Then the
| problem was how to get them down again
Darkness was coming on and they had evidently
made up their minds TO stay there and roost.
Mr.. Tomkyns declared that the only practicable
plan to 60 out the roof with a long stick
and drive them into the windows Of my bed
room, which look out over the roof. This,
notwithstanding q vigorous protest from me.
was carried into execution, and the chickens
hoped in one after another. After they had
been chased around the house for some time
and finally captured each Of them had TO have
one of its wings cut in order that such high
flying could not occur again. and finally they
were all put down in the cellar. because the
night promised TO be very cold. From the
growing which we just heard judge that Sam
has found his way TO his roost at an unusually
early hour. For my own part have become
resigned and Mr.. Tomkyns tries to console me
by assuring me that our hens will Law some
eggs in the spring. / wish they would do 10
now when eggs cost As cents dozen in The
market"
Case Of Hurrah.
An uptown young man. who Is very giraffe