Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1922-02-22
ROOSTER CHARGED
With LAYING EGGS|
Remarkable Story From Poultry
House in Oskaloosa About a
Rooster Who is Laying
Eggs.
OLD WORLD LEGEND
REVIVED AGAIN
In Ancient Times 1t Was Said That
Rooster Eggs Brought Forth
Venomous Serpents.

| NSnOfnOuS SerpentS.
The most remarkable story that
has appeared in Iowa papers in many
years was that published in the Oska-
,oosa Herald of Feb. / and in the Des
Moines Register Feb. 5. The latter
is a duplicate of the former and re-
fers to a barnyard cock or rooster
discovered in the Rynsburger poul-
try house at Oskaloosa, which bird is
said to have been guilty of laying
several fine looking eggs during the
past month. Exactly what truth
there is to the story we do not at
tempt to say, however, it is sOlemnly
declared that the queer old bird has
been sent to the experts at Ames
Agricultural college and experiment
station where a close watch will be
kept on his alleged outlandish doings.
We quote the following from the
Herald article, which was one of
full two-thirds column, put up under
"slug head"
HE looks the part of rooster,
though he behaves like a hen, and
with his less conspicuous companions
was placed in the rooster battery in
one of the feeding rooms of the local
plant.
Shades of Marguerite Sanger:
can egg in the rooster pen!
Employees thought there must have
been a slip and kept close watch |
on the pen.
by the process of elimination they
located the bird.
"Unperturbed by his exposure and
apparently enjoying the notoriety the
newcomer continued his practice, and
still laid eggs as any self respecting
hen would do.
students of the Iowa State col
lege of Ames, who take special in
struction in poultry feeding here, be-
came interested in the fowl and have
Iidd MIN photographed.
Recently they persuaded Mr..
Rhynsburger to send the rooster. to
H. A. Bittenbender of the poultry de-
partment Of the Ames college for ex-
animation and study. The eggs are
being saved and incubated, and the
outcome is awaited with interest.
"Mr. Rynsburger is anxious too,
to receive some sort of an explana-
ton from the Ames professor.
"Where the bird will serve as a
sacrifice to science has not been de-
termined, though there is talk of
killing the strange foul for a more
minute examination
, The Knoxville Journal is of the
opinion that it may not be altogether
embarrassing 10 delve into the anci-
ent history of alleged egg laying
ROSTERS.
Pliny, the elder, celebrated Roman
naturalist, born A. D. %, says of a
creature known as the cockatrice.
There is some question about the
generation of this serpent. Some af-
firm that he IS brought forth from a
cocks egg. For, they say that when
such fowl grows old he layeth eggs
without shells, covered with a thick
skin that will withstand the force of
a hard fall. These eggs, it is said
are found and sat upon by serpent
or a toad and that in due time they
bring forth the creature known as a
Cockatrice. It is a half foot in
length, has the head and shoulders
Of a cock and the hinderparts ARE
those of a serpent, altogether the
most venomous creature known"
Another early writer, time of the
Middle Ages, says: an the time o,
Pope Leo ~, (847-855) there was ;
cockatrice found in a vault at Chap
pell whose pestiferous breath infect
ed the air about so that there was
great pestilence in Rome. Scalize
does say that the horrid beast wa
killed by the prayer of Pope Leo, a
no one dared approach it with cudge
or sword"
We have other references by tn
score as TO what may happen whe
the eggs of a rooster hatch out, how
ever, we will allow the foregoing t
suffice, as it is reported that tn
Ames experimenters are now waitin
patiently for some of Rhynsburger
queer birds eggs to hatch in an in
cubator.