The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1900-03-07
A HOMING INSTINCT.
IT DEVELOPS IN YOUNG ANIMALS
ALMOST AT BIRTH.

The Wonderful Ability Displayed by
various Species In Finding Their
Way Horne-A Tale OF Little Pigs
and the Story OF n Marc.
The homing instinct develops in
young animals almost as early as the
desire for food: In the wild state it is
necessity. since without Il the young
could never keep in touch with herd or
pack. Even after centuries of domesti-
cation it is still acute.
Witness this tale of little pigs: They
were under n month old when their
owner decided to move. lie wanted to
fatten and kill their mother, so offered a
the lot OF 40 ut Il bargain price. A
neighbor five miles away bought the
pigs, put them in box, hoistcd the
box on q wagon and hauled it home.
There the pigs were put in close pen.
fed OF milk and mush for two weeks.
then flowed to run In Il small lot ada
cent to the pen. Three mornings later
every one was missing. 4 small hole
carefully rooted under the gate was the
sole explanation OF their disappear
ancc. Their buyer searched high AMI
low for them, sending even to adjacent
farms, but could not find them
That afternoon the original owner
sent word he had found 80 OF the 40
standing squealing at his gate when he
awoke. The buyer going to reclaim
the strays found the missing fortlcth
pig lying exhausted by the roadside.
but still struggling to follow the trail
OF it's mates.
Upon the same middle Tennessee
plantation 4-year-old mare was
bought from an Ohio drove. The drove
had been brought down OH stock cars
to the country town, seven miles away.
The mare seemed perfectly content III
her new surroundings. SO after n week
or two she was allowed to pasture with
other stock. For day she was happy.
grazing and frolicking with the rest.
Toward noon of the second day n
watcher saw her suddenly fling up her
head, cock one ear forward, one back.
as though listening intently to farolf
call. then start In swinging gallop
for the pasture fence. clear it with one
flying leap, cross a field Of young corn.
take the boundary fence. Il much stiff
er one. and go away due north.
Nothing more WIS seen Or heard Of
her for three months. Then by n sim
guiar chance she was discovered. i'm
pounded as an cstray. more thnn half
way across the state Of Kentucky. She
had swum q considerable river to get
so far and had been taken up through
breaking into pasture to Craze. She
was going home straight as the crow
flies. making no account whatever Of
the bends and turns In the route by
which she had been fetched.
Among fowls. domestic turkeys are
the most persistent homers. This same
plantntion's mistress found that out In
q way at once odd and provoking. She
raised n brood Of IA. which turned out
to contain 13 gobblers. They were flne
lusty, bronze brown fellows. although
this was in the year when bronze tur-
keys. SO called. were unknown. She
gave away seven out Of the 13 to as
many neighbors to put at the head Of
their breeding focks. AS consequence
almost every day for six weeks she
had to go out and help to separate her
own turkeys from some other flock.
Each Of the gift gobblers came back
home, not once. but many t;ircs. with:
his iidrem at his heels.
Cats are proverbial homers. South
ern negroes have many entertaining
superstitions connected with their
transfer. In moving they say it is the
worst luck In the world to take along
the cat. T. Is also very bad luck to
give away cat unless It's feet are
creased and allowed to make marks on
the threshold 1t goes over. They say,
further, the homing propensity can be
destroyed by putting butter on pussy's
feet before they touch anything In her
new home.
Black walnuts, which it is nearly as
bad luck to move as cat, may be
made to serve as i'll luck antidotes by
cracking them carefully md either ty-
ing necklace Of shells on the cat or
putting them upon her feet for boots
It Is lucky to hnve the gift Of cat and
luckier still to have one come to you Of
its own motion. A gift cat ought to be
taken home in q bag securely tied so
none Of the luck will escape.
Notwithstanding this was done in
the case Of tortoise shell tabby, she
came home over q distance OF Is miles.
She took all summer to do it in. The
road home led through pleasant woods
and was never very far from q clear
creek. At various times between June,
when she. vanished from her new
home, and November, when she reap
penred at ,her old one, tabby was seen
scurrying through the woods with a
bird in her mouth or summing herself
luxuriously high in some safe tree
crotch: The first nipping frost brought
her to the familiar door mewlng and
looking up Mt her old master as if she
had never left it.-Chicago Inter Ocean.
The New Teacher.
1T was in the English GLASS;" says
the I0uisvflla Caurior. 1n,Irnal atax,xl n