The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1894-06-22
CHICKENS CAN TALK.
PROFESSOR HAMERIK SAYS so, AND
HE is AN EXPERT ON THE SUBJECT.

Some Odd and Interesting Facts About
Barnyard Fowls-Roosters as Well as
Hens Are Great Gossipers-Inside Infor-
nation About Growing.
| The 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 has made the
discovery that hens and roosters Of the
ordinary barnyard breed hold protracted
and interesting conversations with each
! other
The careful attention he has given
to the subject has not been in vain. Al
| though he has not ayet advanced so far
In his researches as 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
or merely a tale of woe or a paan of
triumph over the discovery Of fresh
worm or juicy grasshopper. He can
also tell you from the tones of ROSTERS
crow whether he is signaling a victory
over a conquered foe or merely passing
away the time or heralding the ap-
proach Of day.
The rooster has. been the professors
pet subject. He has been ON the great
est terms Of intimacy with Sir Chan
tioleer for upward of 20 years. "Roost-
ers," said he to reporter, ''as well as
no IN, @Io
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, and
they would talk in this way" Here
the professor gave an imitation of ahen
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 hen when alone is absolute
ly silent, excepting on rare occasions,
when it sings low lullaby, as it were,
! to itself, much as humars hum when
| alone or as cat will pur when content
ed. Just as soon, however, as the soli-
| 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 I under
stand some of their sounds and can imi-
tate one or two so succe"~fully that
hen listening will pay close attention to
me- Thus if sound the note of alarm
a hen makes when q hawk is near or
some other danger menaces she will i'm
mediately fly to cover"
The 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 a great cackling and flew around the
yard in state of evident terror. An
old hen observed her for a few minutes,
meanwhile making some sounds that
were intended to reassure the scared
fowl, but which had no effect, for the
new arrival cackled worse and louder
than ever Finally the old hen approach
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 a reassuring charac-
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 roosters afforded
Professor Hamerik another interesting
study. He noted the crows Of over 500
roosters and never found two who
crowed alike. Each, after little prac
tice, could readily be distinguished from
the other. The duration of Growing is
between midnight and noon Each crow
lasts from three to seven seconds AL
though ROSTERS may crow at any time
Of night, especially if it is moonlight or
they are disturbed by a light, they crow
the most frequently at dawn or just
before.
The growing seems to be sort Of tel
egraph service between the roOsters, ac-
cording to Professor Hamerik, for in
variably in q neighborhood where there
are many chickens the Growing is al
ways started in the morning by the
same rooster. Immediately response
comes from all the other roosters. Gen.
orally there are about seven crows given
! in an interval of 10 seconds, and then
there is silence for the space of perhaps
20 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 q deep toned crow after he
vanquishes 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
1t particularly relished give vent to a
peculiar chuckle that was undoubtedly
meant for an exclamation of pleasure.
The sound is low, soft intonation,
continued for some seconds. - New
York World