The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-12-30

Sherwin quickly, Il only thought $40 a
little bit extravagant for one rooster,
but you know best He's such hand
some fellow, you ought to give him
name"
I'm going to call him Stitch,
said the bookkeeper gravely, withal
twinkle in his eye.
stitch!'" cried the mother and
the two daughters in concert
"See here, ma, and you two girls,
can't l keep a few fowls and call them
/ by name of my own without you get
ting mad?" he asked. "Wait till buy
the hens and name EN- and you won't
think Stitch anything. I have my lit
tie whims, but if they are going to
make you unhappy I'll
Goodness! Call the birds anything
you like" said the women, while
stitch" released flew to the top Of
the fence and crowed loudly
Sherwins selection of hens was the
talk of the neighborhood and gave
painful recurrence to the whispers
about his sanity. From his savings he
bought them one at a time, and the
first hen was a Brahma christened
Twist" A Plymouth Rock followed,
labeled Wire a Cochin China called
Reaper brown Leghorn gravely
named PEBBLES" apparently after the
factory that employed him. Of the
flock no two were of the same breed,
they came one at a time at intervals
and the prices the old man claimed to
have paid for them were simply out
rageous and kept the family short for
days afterward.
The chicken fad was a fortunate
one for the old man. He was out
bright and early working in the hen
house, and never were fowls so ten
derby cared for AS hens will, they re-
ciprocated the attention lavished on
them, and laid eggs right royalty, eggs
big and eggs little, eggs brown and
eggs white, speckled eggs and double
yolks-the family had eggs to eat and
eggs to sell Sherwin quit his imagin-
airy speculation in stocks and instead
opened up set of books with his hens
over which he never tired working
1t was quite easy to fall into stock
nomenclature in keeping track of the
hens and their doings. When Twist
or Wire" or Reaper" was laying
, regularly their market was rising,
when they moulted and shortened on
. laying the market was off" and he
was long" or short" on their prod
ucts as the case might be. The book
. keeper laid out sheets and gravely sci
: down the names of the flock. now
counting over %, with another rooster
> named "Oilcloth," and reduced the
fluctuations in hen fruit to figures OF
= a decimal basis. Strangely enough
!, both the roosters figured in tn,
= sheets, but presumably their percent
ages were based on the fights they in
dulged in, in which, however, tn,
Wyandotte invariably won.
!, Sherwin made no secret of his foibl,
:. in the office, where it created mucl
: amusement.
:, You must be planning to get ricl
- on your poultry yard" laughed tn
- boys; what are you going to do wit
your surplus?"
Il You'll see me living on my owl
IN place and driving in behind my trotte
al yet" said the bookkeeper, in no wis
,e moved by the grins.
10 MY hens, Wire and Twist ar
ry worth three times what paid for ther
O. and are declaring good dividends RICH
n along. I've got to the point now wher
he put the profits of my hens into sti
to more hens, and some of these days T.
k strike a hen that lays golden egg
and then-the trotter."
% 1t was a pity that the bookkeepe
n. had not taken to keeping hens befor,
IT. He lost his taciturnity and actual
re whistled as he losses his ledger
ey about, and one day he opened ban
NJ account.
he You see" he explained to the banl
er, my hens are making money fo
* me and need a place to keep it SAT-
rs. Then, too, am meditating going int
ed the hen business wholesale and | wi
an want to borrow money"
er- Made up your mind what breeds
&c, plunge on?" asked the amused banl
ng er, who knew all about the 25 an
nd more varieties.
he Yes said his customer gravely,
no do There will be an elimination
re- my varieties to two or three soon
er- have spotted the best layers by kee
no ing sheets on them, and the rest ca
ty go to the chopping block for all
Id care
a Come in and see me when you wal
bo IN harrow said tho hanlypr 81 pups