76 NATURE STUDY LESSONS FOR PRIMARY GRADES 



(Smooths her old dress.) How? Does the hen 

 never change her dress? Have you not seen many 

 feathers lying about the henhouse? Did some- 

 thing pull them out? Do they usually come out 

 easily? How does this happen, then? (Little by 

 little she is changing her dress. An old feather 

 falls out and a new one grows in to take its place. 

 Sometimes a hen loses the whole of her tail at one 

 time.) When does this changing of dress happen? 

 (Late in the summer.) Is this a good time? Why? 

 How do the little new feathers look when they first 

 come in? What do we call them? (Pinfeathers.) 

 Examine these carefully if they can be found when 

 this is studied. Why does the hen need to change 

 her dress at all? (The feathers wear out and 

 become much mussed.) Is there any order in 

 shedding her coat? [When one wing feather 

 comes out, its mate on the opposite side is said to 

 fall out also. Watch and see if this is so.] Are 

 the dresses of the little chickens like their mother's? 

 (No, the chickens are covered with down.) How 

 is the down different from feathers? (Down has 

 no shaft and web.) Before going farther the 

 children tell what they have learned about chickens 

 flying, about their wings, and about their feathers. 



