I4 o DOG STORIES 



send it to you. I may add that the pigeon 

 is of the kind called "Jacobin," and is white, 

 with a black wing. Is there any precedent 

 for such close intimacies between animals so 

 widely separated in kind and habit? 



ALFRED AINGER. 



A HEN AND PUPPIES. 



\Sept. 29, 1888.] 



IN reply to Mr. Ainger's question as to there 

 being " any precedent for such close inti- 

 macies between animals so widely separated 

 in kind and habit" as the dog and pigeon 

 mentioned in his interesting letter, I can 

 mention two cases which have come under 

 my notice this last summer at my farm in 

 Berkshire. In one case the friendship existed 

 between a pullet and a pig. The pullet 

 never left the farmyard to join in the rambles 

 of the other fowls, but kept near the pig all 

 day, occasionally roosting on its friend's back 

 when taking its afternoon nap. 



The other case was more remarkable. A 

 hen, with strong motherly instincts, but no 

 family of her own, acted for several weeks as 



