COCK, HEN, AND CHICKENS. 175 



by their hens laying than by their chickens, artificially 

 protract this clucking season, and sometimes entirely re- 

 move it. As soon as their hen begins to cluck, they stint 

 her in her provisions ; and if that fails, they plunge her 

 into cold water ; this, for the time, effectually puts back 

 ner hatching ; but then it often kills the poor bird, who 

 takes cold, and dies under the operation. 



If left entirely to herself, the hen would seldom lay 

 above twenty eggs in the same nest, without attempting to 

 hatch them : but in proportion as she lays, her eggs are 

 removed ; and she continues to lay, vainly hoping to in- 

 crease the number. In the wild state the hen seldom lays 

 above fifteen eggs ; but then her provision is more difficultly 

 obtained, and she is perhaps sensible of the difficulty of 

 maintaining too numerous a family. 



When the hen begins to sit, nothing can exceed her 

 perseverance and patience; she continues for some days 

 immoveable ; and when forced away by the importunities 

 of hunger, she quickly returns. Sometimes, also, her eggs 

 become too hot for her to bear, especially if she be fur- 

 nished with too warm a nest within doors, for then she is 

 obliged to leave them to cool a little : thus the warmth of 

 the nest only retards incubation, and often puts the brood a 

 day or two back in the shell. While the hen sits, she 

 carefully turns her eggs, and eyen removes them to differ- 

 ent situations ; till at length, in about three weeks, the 

 young brood begin to give signs of a desire to burst their 

 confinement. When, by the repeated efforts of their bill, 

 which serves like a pioneer on this occasion, they have 

 broke themselves a passage through the shell, the hen 

 still continues to sit till all are excluded. The strongest 

 and best chickens generally are the first candidates for lib- 

 erty : the weakest come behind, and some even die in the 

 shell. When all are produced, she then leads them forth 

 to provide for themselves. Her affection and her pride 

 seem then to alter her very nature, and correct her imper- 



