The Washington herald., 1906-11-18
CHICKENS AND
OTHER THINGS
Editor Washington Herald:

cizing an editorial on the chicken ques-
tion, and ending with an injunction to
''be fair as well as funny" I cannot resist
suggesting to Mr. Neyron that he might
we'll follow his own advice. You say. in
your editorial, They (the chickens) are
certainly not as annoying as horses or
cows In stables, or automobile garages or
boiler shops" He takes exception 10 this
/ on the ground that these are sources of
noise only during the day. while chickens
are more noisy during the natural hours
Of sleep.
! Is It entirely correct to say that horses,
/ cows. automobiles, and boiler shops con-
4 fine their noises TO daylight hours? I
/ have repeatedly been kept awake for an
/ entire night by the continued lowing Of q
| COW in the next square, and as for the
/ automobile and its loud and discordant
| noises. these have no respect for the COM
| fort OF others at any hour. either night
/ or day The Herald might well have
added to its list dogs, cats, parrots,
/ pianos. monographs. and a few other
/ very noisy, and in most cases, utterly
/ useless instruments Of torture
/ The capacity Of the average dog as q
/ sleep banisher is we'll known, and the cat
differs IN kind, but not in effectiveness in
this respect And yet It is not proposed
I 70 Danish or even regulate" these. al
/ though neither serves any useful purpose
| in a city, as does the busy hen In fact
the sources Of unnecessary noise in
city are legion, and Of the very few that
are justifable. the hen comes pretty near
ranking first.
Then Mr.. NeyTon makes the sarcastic
statement that the keeping OF chickens
Is purely fad Mr.. Neyron should have
our deep sympathy. He has evidently
never eaten an esq, nor heard Of the juicy
spring chicken, Let him pay a visit TO
any one OF our markets OF commission
houses and his delusion VIII be rudelv
shattered. A fad. indeed, Poultry and
eggs are as staple a food product as
bread and beef, and fully as nutritious
and wholesome. AS TO their money value
/ (as a food product-not a fad) the Acri-
cultural Department has Issued some in
teresting figures, which l would commend
10 the attention Of Mr.. Neyron The num-
Der Of persons who keep poultry as a
fad is so Insignificant as compared to
those who keep them IN order that they
may have fresh eggs and tender fowls
at a reasonable cost, that they are not
10 be considered. In these DAYS OF higu
cost of living, with practically all our
food products controlled by trusts, ana
the prices continually rising as a direct
result, one OF the few means left thrifty
I. hOusehOlders to escape the clutches of
these grasp.ng mOnop0lies is the prOduc-
ton of his own poultry and eggs. and
this should be heartily commended and
encouraged by the authorities, rather than
hampered or prohibited by adverse and
unjust discriminating regulations. Such
prohibition will prove a hardship not only
10 the keepers Of poultry in the District
and the little circle Of neighbors who con-
sumo the surplus fresh eggs and plump
fowls without a suspicion Of cold storage
about them, but 10 the entire population
in the increased prices which viii inevi-
tably result.
Then Mr. Neyron refers to the habit
ually humorous view Of this question
taken by the newspapers. and the fact
that this course prevents many COM
paints because the would-be complain
ants do not relish having their grievances
made to appear ridiculous. Thank good
ness, Oh, that the newspapers might ap-
ply this remedy TO the innUmerable other
petty. childish complaints that we are
forced to see in print in this supersensi- /
tive, irritable, fault-finding town,
Mr.. Neyron asserts that there is a
large number of persons, Of all classes, Of
a nervous temperament, light sleepers,
whose sleep is very much disturbed by
noises of Growing ROSTERS and that TO
these the Growing is detrimental to
health. But will Mr. Neyron or any one
else ascribe the nervous condition Of these
people TO the growing rooster? Are not
the people who live in the country sur
rounded by Growing roosters, lowing cat
tie. neighing horses, croaking bullfrogs,
and the busy chatter Of birds in the trees
and meadows at all hours and seasons, !
practically immune from nerves."
It is not possible that our light and
easily broken rest is due to the hurried. !
noisy. exciting, nerve-racking life we
lead from morning until nearly midnight?
Does not the terror inspired by the clang-
ing street car and the honk. hOnk" Of the
swift and dangerous automobile and the
constant effort to escape from these with /
our lives, contribute far more to this !
sleep-destroying nervousness than the |
cheerful Growing Of the rooster and the !
triumphant announcement Of his wife /
that she has added to the wealth Of her
owner?
Oh, let US be consistent, Let US be
fair as well as fault-fnding, to para
phrase Mr.. Neyron. Il is an axiom that
TO cure an evil you must strike at the |
source Of the trouble, and not treat the !
symptoms. If these over-sensitive per-
sons for whom Mr.. Neyron expresses
such deep sOlicitude. would like more ra- |
tiOnally abstain from the use Of impro-
per stimulants such as tea. coffee. to- |
baccO. &c, take their rest at proper |
hours instead of turning night into day |
as so many Of us in the city are prone
to do and in other ways seek TO re /
move the real source of their trouble /
perhaps the majority of them would Sc
cure more tranquil rest OF course there !
are some whose nervous troubles are not /
the result of dissipation or improper slim /
ulants, and 10 whom the growing Of /
ROSTERS is real source of distress. But
the insignificant number of these GER /
talnly does not justify a practical prohi- /
OluOn of pOultry-keeping in the entire
city Such action would be grossly un-
Iair, and would discriminate against the /
useful hen as distinguished from the use
less dog. cat, and other noisy pets. as /
well as the many sources Of unneces-
sary noise always present in a denselv
populated city.
Inc Herald prescribes the only proper /
remedy for the exceptional case when it |
says: III they create insanitary cOndi-
uOns, let the ever-vigilant health officer
DO hrs duty. II they constitute A
nuisance. let the courts interfere" And /
II sums up the gist of the whole matter
IN its last sentence: 1T looks. indeed. as II
there Was great deal of fuss over a
few feathers" A. 7 THoRsON.
Washington Nov. Il