FARMER AT HOME. 



205 



hunger forces her away from the nest, she quickly returns. While 

 she sits, she carefully turns her eggs, and even removes them to dif- 

 ferent situations, till at length, in about three weeks, the young hrood 

 give signs of bursting their confinement. When they have broken 

 with their bills a passage for themselves through the shell, the hen 

 continues to sit till they are excluded. When all are produced, the 

 strongest taking the lead, and the weakest following, she leads them 

 forth to provide for themselves, and in various ways seek the food that 

 is necessary to supply their wants. She recalls them when they 

 wander, spreads her wings over them to defend them against the 

 inclemency of the weather, and broods a second time. In these 

 expressions of anxiety and attention, her own health is visibly 

 impaired, and she may be distinguished from every other hen by her 

 ruffled feathers and trailing wings. The hoarseness of her voice, and 

 its different inflections, are all expressive of her situation, and of her 

 maternal affection and solicitude. For their preservation she neglects 

 herself, and exposes her life to danger in their defence. Whatever 

 the enemy be that assails them, she warns them by her repeated 

 cries, and boldly attacks the foe, whilst her brood are driven into some 

 place of security. 



HEREFORD COW. 



HEREFORD CATTLE . This is an English breed of the bovine 

 family, deriving the distinctive name, from the county of Hereford, 

 where it is common to the exclusion of most other breeds. They are 

 usually of a dark red ; some of them are brown, and even yellow, 



