New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-09-04
NEW EGG TRAP INVENTED
BY FRESH AIR FUND BOYS
Chickens Decoyed Into Barn by Trail of Corn and
Held Prisoners Until Cacking Announced
Payment of Ransom.

The Bee Hive is a busy place. II
they do not make honey, its occupants
at least make hay while the sun shines
like that much sung resident of the
hive, improving each shining hour.
The chickens across the road know
ell about it, for haven't they been the
means of keeping things humming at
the Hive when times might, but for
them, have been dull? Some one, some
day, will wonder how the dark meat
on the drumsticks of those chickens
got so why, but he wouldn't wonder
long if he knew the miles on miles
those chickens have run this summer.
Why? Well, attribute it to desire
for close-at-hand nature study on the
part of the Bee Hivers, if you want to-.
But don't you remember how, when
you were a small boy, you loved to see
things move rapidly-particularly II
they could meow-ow or cluck-cluck
frsntically during motion?
That brings up a queer thing about
the farmer-across- the-road. He rather
liked to see his chickens in rapid mo-
ton, liked it best when the whole Hive
was swarming in pursuit. The farmer
down he-road "dod blasted" the swarm
so heartily the first time they started
his chickens moving that they didn't
try it a second time.
But the more friendly nearer neigh
Dor would just hold his sides and yell:
cit to 'em, boys; git to 'em; ye amt
half a-runnin'. Why, ] could beat ye
myself, if it want for my rheu-
MATES"
No; of course it wasn't strictly hu-
manitarian, but the lads learned a lot
about chickens.
One day, just for example, one boy
came to "coOk"-a sort of queen bee
at the Hiye-with an egg. 81 found it
out in the barn; en- l have it for my
dinner" said he.
He could and did. The next day
came two boys, each with an egg aud
the same request. The queen bee
thought she smelled a rat and said:
"Im afraid you found those eggs in
the barn-across- the.road. You better
take them back"
"0-o-o-h, no! In our barn; the
chickens is alwus in there"
So they had them for dinner. The
next day there were no eggs found,
but the day after that there were four,
and the queen bee determined to see
next time where they came from. The
following morning she took a peep out
the kitchen door in the direction Of
the barn every FIVE minutes or so, and
this is what she saw:
About o'clock one boy from a
group of five who were lying under an
apple tree by the barn went into the
barn and came out with a pocket full
of corn. Some of this he flung between
the barn door, and three or four hens
which were scratching near by.
OF course, they went for it with q
clatter that drew all their kin that
were within hearing. Then some more
corn was thrown nearer to the barn
door, and some more after that still
nearer. By this time there were fif-
teen or twenty hens grouped about
ten feet from the open doorway.
Just about then there descended upon
the unsuspeeting fowl, from four diff
ferent directions, four yelling, bound
ing boys. What could the ambushed
do? The only road open to them lay
through the barn door, so in they
went. And bang! went the barn door
behind them.
That was all there was to il. About
IL o'clock the eonspirators let the
captives out and disappeared within
the barn themselves. Possibly ten
minutes after that "cook" was APP