Evening journal., 1899-07-21
CURIOUS TRAMP HEN.
She Had Ideas About Laying Eggs
and Also "A Tender
Conscience.

Il WAS IN the NtutScS NdhtA III IOih
state recently" said John Gilbert, the
travelling groceryman, "and went over
TO Arnold's place to see how the won
derful tramp hen was getting along,
and was grieved to hear that she was
dead. That hen beat all. Nobody ever
knew where she came from. Arnold
found her in the yard one morning hve
years ago keeping company with the
only chiclaen he owned at that time, an
other hen. The strange hen was plainly
q tramp. No one in all that vicinity had
lost q hen, and no one had ever seen
this one. She was n red hen, with
blush cast TO her comb, and Of breed
uncertain. She settled down in the
Arnold place with such an air of con-
tentment and ardent determination to
stay there that Arnold raised no objee-
ton. Two or three days later the hen
made a nest on an ash heap and laid
an egg in it. She must have laid the
agg early in the morning, for it was
there at seven o'clock, when Arnold dis
covered it, This was on q Monday. The
Ahen laid an egg every day after that
until the following Sunday, and each
egg seemed TO be put in the nest au
hour later each day. Sunday the hen
didn't lay, br. at noon next day she de-
posted an egg in the nest. AS if to
make up for skipping an egg Sunday,
Mondays egg was an unusually large
one and had two yolSs.
"This remarkable hen kept on laying
an egg daily during that week, the one
that was laid on Friday being deposited
in the nest at just four o'clock in the
afternoon. Next day she started in
at six o'clock in the morning with her
egg for that day, and on Sunday rested
again and laid no egg. The following
Monday though, she laid another very
large egg. This, too, was found to have
two yolks. 1t was laid at seven o'clock.
And so she went on, depositing an egg
in the nest'an hour later each day until
she reached four o'clock in the after
noon, when she would resume opera.
! tions at six O'clock in the morning, al
ways taking a rest on Sunday and max
ing up for it by laying a double-yolked
egg on Monday. She was so regular and
prompt on the hour that the Arnold
family got TO depending more on the
hen for the right time O. day than they
did on the clock, but not until one day
according to the clock, she had laid hei
egg at ten minutes before 12, and they
thought she had made a mistake; but
they found that she hadn't, the clock
being Just ten minutes slow.
"At the end of May queer thing hap
pened. The hen skipped week das
without laying an egg. Arnold wai
worried, because such thing had no
occurred before. All of a sudden az
idea hit me.
"'Sayl' said 1. You haven't founC
out yet what a real wonder this hen is
Yesterday was May 80, wasn't it?'
YES said Arnold.
Decoration day said /. sHoliday
This hen doesn't work on holidays,
take it, any more than she dses sa-Sun
daysl'
And that proved to be the case, fe
Arnold Kept me posted good wlhle b,
letter as to the doing of the hen. Whei
Fourth OF July came round no egg, bu
n double-yolked one next day. Thei
right along she went again, with an egl
every day but Sunday, double yoll< oi
Monday until Thanksgiving. No eg,
Thanksgiving, double yolk next day
No egg Christmas, no egg New Year
day, but double-yolk eggs after each o
these holidays. And so she went on a
regular as the days and Sundays an
holidays came. l hadn't heard any
thing from the hen for a long time, he
performances having become an al
thing, so last week, when was up i
the country again, l went over to Sc
how the wonderful tramp hen was get
ting along.
"'Ohl" said Arnold. she's dead
"'How did it happen . said 1.
"'Well, you know Christmas fell o
Sunday. said Arnold. OF course sh
didn't lay any egg on Sunday, and. a
we kept Monday as the holiday, @
course she didn't lay an egg on tha
day. Tuesday she laid an egg that wa
a sight to see. 1t was as big as n COOS
egg, and three yolksl But l don't thin
she liked doing three days work in on
and she couldn't conscientiously d
anything else. New Years came alon
the same way. Saturday the hen Tai
her egg at her regular hour for ths
day. and we didn't notice particular
until Tuesday morning that she WASH
. around as usual. There was no egl
either big or little, in the nest that da,
and we became alarmed. We starte
out to look up the hen. We found he
u lying under the manger, dead
That's what Arnold told me, and
had no reason to doubt it. That hen W;
quite as wonderful in her death, accor,
ing to my ideas. as she was in her lif
She was extraordinary, and no mistalS
but she drew her conscience down Ii
tie too fine. Chicago Inter Ocean.
p An English Ind.
t II. o. is boy Of IL years Of age.
j. the Baker street school, Stepney. o.
:, of school he works for a shopkeepe
d Here is his daily round:
o Work, every weekday morning,