Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1925-07-24
CHIX MATCHED
In ASH HOPPER
Sun-Hatched Chickens Nothing New
Edinburg Had EN- Over Half
Century Ago-Read This

Jackson, Miss, July 15.-Blake
Virgins, former president of the
Mississippi Farm Bureau Cotton As
ISOLATION, is the proud possessor of
brood of chickens Matched out by
the sun.
When a young hen with fiapper
tendencies deserted her nest in
fence corner several days ago, Mr..
Virgins decided to give the sun
chance, so cleared away the weeds
and gave Old Sol full play. At night
he covered the eggs with blanket.
i Twelve beautiful chicks we're usher |
ed into the world without mother or
incubator.
The above was taken from the Har-
risonburg Daily News-Record of last
Thursday. 1t is strange story but,
as in everything else, before per-
son can claim credit for being the
originator of new thing he had bet
ter find out what is going on in Ed
inburg. Way back in the '70's, the
late Capt. George j. Grandstaff, who
was then living in the house now
I owned and occupied by c. L. Stone
burner, concluded to set hen. The
: place chosen for the incubation of
tn chicks was beside what was then
known as an ash hopper. At that
day, ash hoppers were common at
almost every home They were used
to extract the I've from the wood
ashes accumulated at every home.
broad at the top, with sloping sides
leading to trough which formed the
bottom of the hopper. Before the
ashes were placed in the hopper for
teaching, the hopper was lined with
straw, which frequently stood up
above the sides of the hopper. On
a certain day in July the Captain took
his basket of eggs and went out to
set his hen. He laid the eggs on
ing the nest for the hen. When the
nest was completed, he put the eggs
under the hen, but noticed he was
one egg short Thinking he had
made mistake in the original count,
he went back to the house and got
another egg, giving the hen the de-
sired number of Is eggs, and old
"biddy' settled down to business.
Three weeks after the Captain took
his hen off the nest, with Is chicks
As he started toward the house with
the hen in his hand and chicks in a
basket, he thought he heard another
chick chirp. This was hard to I'M
derstand, as he already had fifteen
chicks, one for each egg set, and
yet he continued to hear little chick
chirp. Further examination of the
nest showed there was no chick
therein. and yet the chirping contin-
ued. Determining to solve the mys-
terry. he made careful Search under
the ash hopper and all around the
nest, but found nothing. AS he rose
to his feet, the chirping seemed to
be on line with his head He looked
into the ash hopper and, 10 and be-
hold! he found sturdy chick, let
4 ting the world know it was alive.
The presence of the chick proved
that he had made no miscount with
his eggs, but that he had left one
in the ash hopper when he set the
hen. While old biddy was incubating
her chicks. the heat of the sun, dur
ing the day, and warm July nights
was maturing the chick from the
lost egg. He gave the sun-hatched
chick to the hen and old biddy, if
she counted her chicks, boosted to
her friends that she had Matched 16
chicks from Is eggs.
From the above, we see that when
we hatch chicks from the sun, we
don't have to cover them at night
with blanket. Edinburg is always
ahead. Attend Home Coming, and
see If it is not a fact.