The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1894-06-14
CHICKENS CAN TALK.
PROFESSOR HAMERlk SAYS so, AND
HE'S AN EXPERT ON THE SUBJECT.

ne 70 AN 6ArGhl yin TIE SUBJECT.
Some Odd aud Interesting Facts About
Bsrnyard Fowls Boosters as Wen as
Hens Are Great Gossipcrs Inside InEor-
NATION About Growing.
TAe simians that Professor Garner
discovered in Africa and which he claims
ran talk as readily ashuman beings win
have to look TO their laurals, for Pro
foser ASger Hanerik of the Peabody
institute Of Baltimore has made tho
discovery that hens and roostors of the
ordinary baIliysrd breed hold protracted
and Interesting conversations with each
o,her aa
Ihe careful attention he has given
10 the subject has not been in vain. Al
tl8ugh he has not yet advanced so far
i III iese.arcaes rs to be able to discuss
Ina topics of the day with his chickens,
70 has learned enough to be able to
g what n lca means when she cacS-
les, Uhotiicr it is for newly laid egg
osSIaer2ly, n tale of woe or pean of
tSi7aelpil over tho discovery of u fresh
S,-s,gin os u juicy gsasshopper He can
.laa tell Yen FROM the tones of arooster's
crox whether he is signaling victory
over u conquered foe or merely passing
away the time or heralding the APP
proach of day.
The rooster has been the professors
pet subject He has been ON the great
est terms of intimacy with Sir Chan
tcleeT for upward of 30 years "Roost-
ers. said he to reporter, "as well as
hens are the greatest gossipers in the
world When they get together, they do
nothing but chatter continually This
Is true also of the young pullets. I have
watched them for hours at time, aud
they would talk in this way" Here
the professor gave an imitation Of hen
clucking and other of the sounds so ia
miliar In the farmyard.
THAT they are conyersing with one
another Is proved by the fact that a
rooster or hen when alone is absolute
" silent, excepting on rare occasions,
when 1t sings low lullaby, as it were,
to itself, much as humans hum when
alone or as q cat viii pur when content
ed. Just as soon, however, as the soil
tary hen or rooster meets another you
will hear an animated conversation. /
have not progressed so far that am able
to understand all they say, but unde
stand some of their sounds and can mi
tate one or two SO successfully that a
hen listening will pay close attention to
me. Thus if sound the note of alarm
q hen makes when q hawk is near or
some other danger menaces she will I'M
mediately fly to cover"
Thel professor believes chickens tell
each other current news. One day he in
troduced new hen into his yard who,
the very first time she spied the dog, set
up q great cackling and few around the
yard in a state of evident terror. An
old hen observed her for few minut es,
meanwhile making some sounds that
were intended to reassure the scared
fowl, but which had no effect, for the
new arrival cackled worse and lou der
than ever. Finally the old hen approa CHI
ed close to the stranger, chuckling in a
low tone. What she said he had no
means of knowing, but it must have
been something of reassuring chal ac-
ter, for the new 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 500
roosters and never found two who
crowed alike. Each, after little ptae-
tice, could readily be distinguished from
the other. The duration of growing -
between midnight and noon. Each crow
lasts from three to seven seconds. Al
though BOOSTERS may crow at any time
of night, especially if it is moonlight or
they are disturbed by light, they crow
the most frequently at dawn or just
before.
The growing seems to be a sort of tel
egraph service between the ROSTERS, ac=
cording to Professor Hamerik, for in
variably in neighborhood where there
are many chickens the Growing il al
ways started in the morning by the
same rooster. Immediately response
comes from all the other ROSTERS. 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 the first rooster starts
again, and the performance is repeated.
A rooster always crows, too, shortly
after eating, and never fails to voice
his JOY in a deep toned crow after he
vanquishes a rival.
The professor has discovered, among
other things, that chickens have 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
developed The professor frequently OBJ,
served chicken after eating anything
ttparticularly relished give vent to a
peculiar chuckle that was undoubtedly
meant for an exclamation of pleasure
The sound is a low, soft information,
continued for some seconds - New
York World.
.