Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1905-09-27
THE WAYS OF A HEN
THEY ARE WORTHY OF MORE STUDY
THAN THEY RECEIVE.

some OF the Pcculiaritfes OF This Do
nestle Fowl. which l. at once
About the Wiscst and Most Foolish
Animal Tint Lives.
Half wild. with the ancestral habits
Of the jungle fowl about her ana the
wariness OF fear apparent in every
energetic act and still half tanned.
with the senSelesS confidence OF *
norance in evidence and showing plain
~ in many acts. the domestic hen is
worthy OF more study than she re-
Ccivcs.
Poultry fanciers by long practice can
predict almost TO a feather the creature
that Will result from any given cross
between two marked varieties and can
forosee how many eggs new breeds
from crosses will lay in year. and so
mark ont the course Of the unborn or
spring from mixed mating that we
have but little 10 discover from OBJ
scrvation. BUT the color and character
OF the plumage. the amount Of egg pro
duction and the weight and cdibiiity Of
the new generation are not all there is
TO hen.
soul. hut she has both glzzard and a
crop. which shows she has the advan-
tage OF the human race. Surely. she
does not reason. else she would not act
rs she does, but She holds certain men
tai attributes which serve better than
any reasoning power could hope TO do.
and thus gains her ends without going
to the trouble OF thinking.
Take two dippers and place in one
two quarts Of yellow flint corn. such
as is grown In Maine. and put i'm the
other two quarts Of gold dollars. such
as are still minted in san Francisco.
Now empty both dishes among the
gravel OF the henyard and note how
the poultry will pick up and swallow
The corn, leaving the gold 10 lie out and
mingle with the common earth.
To an unthinking observer gold dol
Lar bears fairly close resemblance to
kernel OF yellow flint corn. Both are
reddish yellow; both are nearly Of
equal size. To human senses both are
hard and odorleSs and. until broken
open. tasteless. BY what organ Of
sense does the hen distinguish the dol
human
standpoint of the senses Of taste and
smell you cannot tell one from the 9th
er. The extra weight Of the gold coin IS
not the reason why 1t Is discarded. be-
cause Il hen Will pick up oats as we'll
as corn, though one holds thirty-two
and the other fifty-six pounds to the
] even bushel
! If the. contents of the two measures
had been spread out in front OF men
the choice would not have been made
| according TO hen conclusions. for the
ce;SOn that men have learned how gold
dollars are constructed. But if a hen
had never seen kernel of corn or a
| gold dollar before during her existence
she would have chosen the corn lust as
| quickly. Why was she lei to make the
choice?
Among the most interesting features
in raising poultry is to note the rever-
sion 10 ancestral types which crops out
in the young. The custodian OF the
coOps may walk about the premises
for days and weeks without creating
any gossip among the hens, but let a
stranger come along. and the cutlery
Of danger is made forthwith. This in
herited dread Of foe crops out to Il
marked degree In the young. If hen
steals her nest and incubateS her
young and brings them to the door 10
be fed every chick In the lot Will Scoot
away and hide as soon as a human
| being appears on the scene
Among game fowl and the smaller
breeds this fear continues for weeks.
though II nearly disappears when the
chicks become adults. The family dos;
may loaf about the yard for weeks and
never raise squawk Of protest but
lot new dog approach the premises
ana the outcries of the poultry may
be heard from afar. \ skunk will
drive the poultry into Mysteries. though
a black and white striped cat that Ia
longs ON the place can sun itself In the
runways for hours and never be wax.
ened by poultry OutcrieS.
At what age and by what manner dC
chickens learn TO distinguish their
friends? Having been made able e