836 Rural School Leaflet 



in the air when it starts to fly? What does the wing press against? Can 

 you press against air? If you carry an umbrella on a windy day, which 

 catches more wind, the upper or the under side? Why? How does the 

 wing of a bird correspond to the umbrella? 



20. Examine a wing feather. Are the barbs equally long on each side 

 of the quill? Is the wing feather curved? Is the concave or the convex 

 side uppermost on the wing? Why? Which way does the feather bend 

 most easily? 



21. If the bird flies by pressing its wings against the air on the down 

 stroke, why does it not push itself down on the up stroke? 



22. Look at a tail feather and see how it dififers from a wing feather. 

 Does a hen, when she is flying, keep her tail closed, or open like a fan? 

 Have you ever seen a young robin, with tail not yet grown, try to fly? 

 How did it act ? Do you think a bird could sail through the air if it had 

 nothing to steer with? What is the bird's tail used for? 



23. Are the feathers of the hen beautiful in color? Which is the 

 more handsome, the hen or the rooster? Note the difference in shape 

 and color of the tail feathers of hen and rooster. Do the graceful, curv- 

 ing plumes in the tail of the rooster help him any in flight ? Are they stiff 

 enough to act as a rudder? If they are of no use in flight, nor in keeping 

 him warm, nor in keeping off the rain, then what are these beautiful plumes 

 for? Is the rooster's plumage aside from the tail ornaments more 

 beautiful than the hen's? 



24. Name all the ways in which feathers are useful to the hen. 



25. Observe the combs and wattles of the rooster and the hen. In 

 which are they the more showy? 



• THE HABITS OF THE HEN 



Observations by pupils. — i. At what time of year does the hen naturally 

 lay the most eggs? How many does she lay in one day? When would 

 she naturally stop laying? How does she announce to the world that 

 she has laid an egg ? 



2. How does a hen make her nest if we do not make it for her? How 

 many eggs can she sit on at once? How does she care for her eggs when 

 she is sitting? How often does she come off her nest while sitting? How 

 long does it take her eggs to hatch? 



3. How does the chick get out of the eggshell? For what purpose 

 is the little tooth on the tip of the young chick's beak? What becomes 

 of this tooth? 



4. What is the difference between the covering of a chick and of a 

 hen ? The chick has wings — can it fly ? Why not ? 



