POULTRY. 129 



&quot;Never mind carrying the joke any farther,&quot; I 

 replied, firmly. &quot; You may think it witty to say my 

 chickens have the gaps, and I would laugh if possi 

 ble ; but, as three of them have died, it is no laugh 

 ing matter. If you have nothing more useful to 

 suggest, we will return to the house.&quot; 



&quot; I say they have the gaps ; don t you know what 

 that is ? It is a regular disease, coming often from 

 dampness, neglect, or inherent weakness some peo 

 ple imagine there is a worm in the chicken s throat 

 and is cured by a change of diet, free exercise, 

 and forcing whole black peppers down their throats. 

 Let your chickens out of this miserable little hole 

 where you have been suffocating them, and give 

 them a change of diet, especially some worms or 

 meat, and compel the worst to swallow a whole pep 

 per every day or two. You may save a good many 

 of them yet.&quot; 



This was an exceedingly suggestive speech. My 

 coop, which w r as some four feet square, was called a 

 &quot; hole ;&quot; my care and attention were termed &quot; neg 

 lect ;&quot; and it was considered possible that I might 

 save a &quot; good many&quot; of my pets. So I laughed at 

 the idea, ridiculed his remedy, and told him there 

 was danger that his &quot;whole peppers&quot; would keep 

 them awake, and make them more u gapy&quot; than 

 F2 



