The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-06-19
CHICKENS IAN TALK.
PROFESSOR HAMErnk eAxs so, AND
Hs is AN EXPERT ON THE SUBJECT.

1ho slmlalls that Professor Garner
discovered i'll Africa and which no claims
can Cilk as readily as human beings will
nave to look to their laurels, for Pro
lessor AsScr Hamerik of tho Peabody
institute of Baltimore has modo tho
discovery that hens and roosters Of the
ordinary barnyord breed hold proractod
ana interesting conversations with oach
other.
Tho careful attention he has given
10 the subject has not boon in vain. Al
Though he has not yot advanced 50 for
1n his researches us to be ablo to discuss
ghn topics of the day with his chickens,
NO mas learned enough to DO able to
teIl what hen means when sho cacl-
jos, whether it is for newly laid egg
or merely tale Of WOO or o pecan of
Triumph over tho discovery Of a fresh
worm or juicy grasshopper. He can
also tell you from tho tones of ROSTERS
crow whether he is signaling victory
over u conquered foo or merely passing
away tho time or heralding the ap-
proach of day
The rooster has been tho Professors
pet subject He has boon on tho groat-
est terms of intimacy with Sir Chan
ticlccr for upward of go years "Roost-
chs said he TO reporter, "as wpll rs
hens arc tho greatest gossipcrs III the
world When they get together, they do
nothing but chatter continually. This
Is true also of the young pullota have
watched them for hours at a time, and
they would talk III this way" Here
tho professor gave an imitation of " hen
clucl1ing and other of tho sounds SO fa-
miliar in the farlnyard
'"That they are convcrsing with one
another is proved by tho fnct that
rooster or n hen when alono Is absolute
ly silent excepting on rare occasions,
when 1t sings n low lullaby, M 1t were,
to itself, much Us humans hum when
alone or as ii cat will pur when content
od. Just rs soon, however. Us the soli-
taTy hen or rooster meets another you
VIII hear an animated conversation
havc not progressed so far that am able
to understand all they say, but under
stand some Of their sounds and can imi-
tate ono or two so successfully that a
hen listening will pay close attention to
me- Thus if l sound tho note of alarm
hen makes when hawk Is near or
some other danger menaces sho will I'M
ncdiatcly fly to cover
The professor believes chickens tell
each other current news Ono day he In
troduccd Il new hen into his yard who,
the very first time she spicd the dog, set
up great cacllling and flow around the
yard in a state of evident terror. An
old hen observed her for IL few minutes,
meanwhile making some sounds that
wero intended to reassure the scared
fowl, but which had no effect, for the
new arrival cackled worse and louder
than over. Finally tho old hen approach
ed close to the stranger, chucklinR In O
Low tone What she said no had no
means of knowing but 1t must have
been something of roassuring ohnrao-
ter, for the now hen ut once coased her
chatter, and never after that did she dis
play the least fear of tho dog.
Growing among the ROSTERS afforded
Professor Ha1nerik another interesting
study. He noted tho crows Of over 500
ROSTERS and never found two who
crowod alike. Each, after little prnc-
tlca could readily bo distinguished from
tho 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 arc disturbed by a light, they crow
the most frequently ut dawn or Just
before.
Tho growing seems to BIO o sort Of tel
egraph service between the ROSTERS, ac-
cOrding to Professor Hamorilt for In
variably In u ncighborhood 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 ROSTERS Gen
orally there are about seven crows given
In MI interval of 10 seconds, and then
there is silence for the space of perhaps
30 seconds, when tho 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 Il deep toned crow after he
vanQuisles q rival
Tho professor has discovered, among
other things. that chickens have very
acute sense of taste, hearing and vision,
but lack the sense of smell Tho most
powerful fumes Of acid arc 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 we'll
developed The professor frequently OBJ
served chicken after eating anything
1t particularly relished give vent to
peculiar chuckle that was undoubtedly
meant for an exclamation Of pleasure.
The sound is low soft intonation,
continued for some seconds. - New