Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-07-14
CHICKENS CAN TALK,
PROFESSOR HAMERlK SAYS so, AND
HE IS AN EXPERT ON THE SUBJECT,


Some Odd and Interesting Facts About
Barnyard Fowls-Roosters as Well a.
Hens Arc Great Gossipcrs-Ia.ide Iufor.
nation About Growing.
Tho simians that Professor Garner
discovered in Africa and which he claims
can talk as readily as human beings will
have to look to their laurels, for Pro-
fessor Asger Hamerik of the Peabody
institute of Baltimore bias made tho
discovery that hens and boosters of the
ordinary baTnyard breed hold protracted
and interesting conversations with each
other
The careful attention he has give,,
to the subject has not been in vain. Al
though he has not vet advanced so far
III his researches rs to be able to discuss
the topics of the day with his chickens,
he has learned enough to be able to
tell what hen means when she cack-
les, whether it is for a newly laid egg
" merely tale of woe or u p;ean of
triumph over the discovery of Il fresh
worm or juicy grasshopper. He can
also tell you from the tones of ROSTERS
crow whether he is signaling victory
over conquered foe or merely passing
away the time or heralding the an
proach of day.
The rooster has been the professors
pet subject. He has been on the great
est terms Of intimacy with Sir Chan
ticleer for upward OF 90 years. ''Rcos:-
eTs, said he to {: reporter, las well as
hens are the greatest goSsipers III the
world. When they get together, they do
nothing but chatter continually. This
is true also of the young pullets / have
watched them for hours at a time. ard
they would talk i'll this way" Here
the professor gave an imitation of a hen
clucking and other of the sounds so IA
miliar in the farmyard.
That they are conversing with one
another is proved by the fact that a
rooster or n hen when alone is absolute
~ silent, excepting on rare occasions,
when it sings low lullaby, rs it were,
! to itself, much rs humans hum when
alone or as n cat will ppr when content
! ed. Just as soon, however, as the soil
| tary hen or rooster meets another Won
| VIII hca~ an animated conversation. l
have not progressed so far that am able
| to understand all they say, bat / under
stand some of their sounds and can imi-
/ tate one ar two SO successfully that a
hen listening viii pay close attention TO
| me. Thus Il | sound the note of alarm
hen makes wheDa hawk is near or
some other danger mcrGccS she viii i'm
mediately fly to cover
The professor believes chickens tell
each other current news. One day be in
| troduced Il new hen into his yard who.
| the very first tilce she spied the dog set
ZIP great cackling and few around the
| yard in n state Of evident terror An
! old hen observed her for n few minutes,
| meanwhile making Some sounds that
Were intended to reassure the scared
| fowl, hut which had no effect, for the
new arrival cackled worse and louder
| than ever. Finally the old hen approach
! cd close to the stranger. chucklinC in q
low tone. What she said he had no
means Of knowing. hut it must have
been something Of n reassuring charac-
| ter. for the now hen at once ceased her
| clatter, and never after that did she dis
! play the least fear of the dog
Growing among the ROSTERS afforded
| Professor Hamerik another interesting
study. He noted the crows of over 800
ROSTERS and never found two who
| crowed alike. Each, after 4 little prac-
tice, could readily be distinguished from
the other. The duration of growing is
between midnight and noon Each crov
| 1aLss 4,-y.,,
| though ROSTERS may crow at any time
of night, especially If it is moonlight or
they are disturbed by 4 light, they crow
the most frequently at dawn or Just
before
| The Growing seems to be {; sort of tel
e-raph service between the ro0stcrf ac-
| cording to Professor Hamcrik, for in
var!ably i'll y ncigrhborhood where there,
are many chickens the Growing is al
ways started in the morning hy the
same rooster. Immediately response
comes from all the other roostcrs. Gen
orally there are about seven crows given
in an interval of 10 seconds, and then
there Is silence for the space of perhaps
| 90 seconds, when TIE first rooster starts
again, and the performance is repeated
A rooster always crows, too. shortly
after eating, and never fails to voice
his joy i'll deep toned crow after he
vauqCishcs q rival.
The professor has discovered among
other things, that chickens have Il very
acute sense of taste, hearing and vision,
but lack the sense of smell. The most
powerful fumes of acid are impercepti-
BILE to them. An experiment with am
monia proved that, though overcome
with it, the hens walked blindly into
the same danger repeatedly.
The sense of taste is exceedingly well
eycloped. The professor frequently OBJ
s.rved a chicken after eating anything
it particularly relished give vent to a
| peculiar chuckle that was undoubtedly
meant for an exclamation of pleasure.
The sound is a low, soft intonation,
continued for some seconds. - New
| York World