CHERRY EATING CHICKENS. 141 



handed grabs where they were supposed to be, 

 but the grab oftentimes resulted only in a hand- 

 ful of mud and water. Whether they will prove 

 tempting bait to goggle-eyes and other fish only 

 the day will tell. 



On my way across lots to the larger stream 1 

 stopped for an hour or more at the old home 

 place to help in picking cherries. The wind 

 was blowing briskly, so 'that at times my foot- 

 hold in the top of tree was most uncertain. By 

 tying the bucket to a limb both hands were 

 free, and then, by clinging fast with one and 

 with the other bending in the limbs and pick- 

 ing, the work was made more easy. I delight 

 in gathering fruit of any kind, and especially 

 apples or something that will fill the receptacle 

 quickly. The cherries were very thick, often- 

 times a dozen or more in a cluster. In picking 

 with one hand some were sure to drop, but they 

 were not wasted, as during every moment I was 

 at work an old rooster and part of his harem 

 stood beneath the tree and waited for them. 

 Cherry flavored chicken meat should command 

 an extra price in market. Then again the eggs 

 of those hens may be cherry red, for in a news- 

 paper a few days ago I read that one farmer's 

 hens which had fed copiously on mulberries 

 were laying purple eggs. 



Reaching the larger stream at eleven o'clock, 

 I soon had from the first pool at which I stopped 



