82 OUR HUMBLE HELPERS 



country. Off they go, always by themselves, without 

 ever admitting the common poultry to their ranks. 

 To the music of its harsh chatter the flock goes on 

 from one hedge to another, one bush to the next, 

 snapping up insects. The distraction of the hunt 

 makes them forget distance, and soon they are be- 

 yond supervision. Let a dog appear, and these half- 

 tamed game-birds are seized with a foolish panic. 

 They fly in all directions, with a cry of alarm re- 

 sembling the harsh note of a rattle. The disbanded 

 flock will have much trouble in getting together 

 again; perhaps when they do come together one or 

 two will be missing. Another inconvenience no less 

 grave : during these excursions the eggs are laid al- 

 most anywhere, in the wheat-field, on the broad 

 meadow, amid the tangled underbrush. Except by 

 attentive watching at the moment of laying, it would 

 take a sharp eye to find the-nest of the suspected bird. 

 "The guinea-hen broods in about the same manner 

 as the common hen, but it is preferable to set the 

 eggs under a common hen ; she will perform the im- 

 posed task perfectly and make no distinction between 

 her own eggs and those of a stranger. The hatching 

 takes place about the twenty-eighth or thirtieth day. 

 On coming out of the shell, the little guinea-chicks 

 can walk and eat alone quite as well as the other 

 chickens. They need warmth and assiduous care. 

 The first week they are fed with a pap of bread- 

 crumbs and hard-boiled eggs, to which are added 

 ants' eggs or at least a little chopped meat. After 

 that they have the same diet as ordinary chickens. 



