838 Rural School Leaflet. 



freshly dressed fowl that is not too stiff to bend the first joint above 

 the foot; the toes will immediately draw downward as if to grasp a 

 perch. 



If her toes are good rakes, her beak is a pick, pointed and horny, 

 and large enough to demolish the largest worm or insect that rewards 

 the search of her scratching feet. She uses her beak also as a weapon of 

 defense, as a help to turn her eggs when incubating, and to oil and dress 

 her feathers. She has no teeth, but she needs none, as her food is ground 

 fine for digestion in an organ called the gizzard, which she is careful 

 to keep well filled wdth small stones or grit. The hen's nostrils show 

 as two small holes near the base of the beak, but it is not considered 

 that her sense of smell is very keen, on account of the dry and horny 

 substance surrounding them, so different from the moisture-bathed 

 nostrils of the dog or deer. Her hearing, like that of all birds, is very 

 acute, yet the ears are in some instances mere openings into the head 

 cavity, more or less covered with feathers, though some breeds have 

 lobes which are so flat as to seem more for ornam.ent than use. 



The iris of the hen's eye is usually yellow, the pupil black and round. 

 When she winks it is the lower lid which covers the eye, and when she 

 .is dozing in dust or sun-bath a thin film-lid slides over the eye from its 

 inner corner. The hen can see well, and is able to keep a lookout on all 

 sides of her though she cannot see an object with both eyes at once. 

 She can also make her eyes far-sighted or ne^r-sighted at will to serve 

 her when scratching for seeds at her feet or watching for hawks in the 

 sky. She has a habit of re-enforcing the judgment of one eye by im- 

 mediately bringing the other one to bear on any object in view, which 

 gives her nodding head a very alert expression. 



Birds are the only creatures clothed in feathers, and it is superior 

 to a covering of hair or fur, since it gives them the power of flight, which 

 no other creatures enjoy except the insects and the bats. Though 

 they differ so much in size, shape, and appearance, the feather cover- 

 ings of all birds are attached to their bodies in essentially the same 

 way and are particularly adapted for the service or protection of the 

 parts covered. The back feathers are a roof, closely webbed, over- 

 lapping like shingles, usually with pointed tips, while the plumage 

 of the breast and belly is softer, less closely webbed and very fluffy next 

 the quill. This fluff is next the skin of the bird and retains the heat 

 of the body, as one may easily test by slipping the fingers beneath the 

 webs of some gentle biddy's breast feathers. Little chicks need a warm 

 covering and are clothed all in down. When the new feathers come, 

 either on the chick or when the hen is moulting, they are called pin 



