The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1898-04-28
The sitting Hen,

The chicken that is born on or before
the lst day in March is worth dozens
born in May or June, when all the hens
want to sit The trouble is to find the
hen who is inclined to incubation in the
month Of February. Generally speaking
she must be March chicken herself
Therefore to have March cqickens you
must first have March chickens. IL is
like the great economic proposition: To
make money you must hava money TO
make it with. However il is not necessary
to inherit March pullets They otp be
practical hen keeper aside from tho &c
wholesale gentlemen who can devote oil
their time and attention TO the monument
al task OF making incnbstors incubate,
and who are consequently independent OF
the natural means OF incubation will tell
you that the early born pulle', who is IN
der q sort Of natural compulsion to lay
early herself, is, even when OF no breed at
all, Of more value th I the high bred fowl
who declines to lay sny eggs until the
balmy sprinetime has come and eggs can
be bought for lj cents DOZEN
The eccentriciiies of the sitting hen are
beyond oil account N, power on earth
or heaven cs1 prevent certain hens from
sitting ball their lives They will sit on
eood eggs, on bad egRf, on china eggs, on
stones, on sticks on nothing at ALL Turn
ed out OF one place, they will cit in any
other BY actual experiment a certain
Plymouth Rock (oi whose breed one OF
the many noble qualities is broodDess
persisted 10 sitting for SIX weeks running, |
thouge she was given no eggs at all end |
vas treated with the greatest contumely,
being moved from pillsr TO post and tfllct
ed with sharp cornered cobbIestones and
daily driven away With violence from her
pathetic attempt to convert these gnomin
Gus rocks into the noble cnes OF Plymouth
At the end OF siI weeks Lhs did give up
further sitting, but che appeared 10 enter
tain no grudge on account OF her trest
ment and would on occasion come and eat
out OF the hanGs OF her late tormentors
Ii was 10 the autumn when she made THE
l1ixohc attempt, and she had already 10
this same year brought of two hne broods
al IN 81 H.. !
IE Jnne.
Oiher hens will never sit at oil. The +,
sLite Minorcas-tbose hens with great .
,ombs, which look cxte,ly like roos,ers {
md are called "Catalans' by the Spanish
will lay perhsps more eggs 10 year =
ban sny other .ort Of ben, but they will
iot lay them 10 Ia weather. sud it ls %
kelly that any one oi them vas ever q
Ibovn to batch q brood Of chickens Tb. /
inoroas will indeed, sometimes begin 10 a
n, bat they seem 70 be under the inl '
preston that three dsys ought 10 be, iu
II conscience, a long enough time 10 2
which TO batch out al egg, and 8, the eI o
,irstiou OF ,bout ibst time they will sb.u c
Ion tie s'tempt with . great hnttsr aud a
luch denubcistory orstory. II they are Il
astentd down 90 the pess With bosrd 0
laced above their bseks. they will stand
b as high ss they can ua3er the bosrd u
I'd let the cold air sdile tier eggs Ii is Il
oubiiul II ever spy human beng. male o. a
gmsls. wicked o. pioas. Chrsusn OF 4
sgsn. ever got through wi,hon, profanity .
q attempt 10 make Mlnorcs ben cit. .
here are other breeds of uonsilter,, Il
,hieh are Get merely too numerous bat 0
leo loo collemptible 10 mention, Tue 4