REARING ARTIFICIAL MOTHER. 55 



same part with the other two, we had few more than 

 twenty to bring up by hand. 



Here commenced the grand difficulty. The nurse 

 chickens soon became weary of their basket, feeling 

 their natural desire of almost perpetual action, and 

 the want of a mother to lead and brood them. 

 A capon is best calculated for this business, as from 

 size being capable of covering such a number : but 

 much discipline is required to bring the capon to this 

 habit. I have never made trial of the capon for this 

 employ, but am assured that the discipline described 

 by Buffon, namely, plucking the feathers from the 

 breast, and repeatedly irritating the skin with net- 

 tles, in order that the pain may impel the bird to 

 take chickens to the part by way of alleviation, is 

 equally futile and unnecessary as it is barbarous : and 

 indeed more probable to enrage him, and endanger 

 the brood. It is said, feeding the chicks a few times 

 with the capon, attaches it to them ; that some capons 

 will brood them almost immediately, others can never 

 be induced to -it by any means. In the mean time, 

 an ARTIFICIAL MOTHER cannot be dispensed with, 

 under which the chickens may brood and shelter. 



We made choice of a BOX, the sides of which we 

 covered with lamb's skin dressed with the wool on, 

 the lid being covered with the same, placed and con- 

 fined sloping within the box, so that one extremity 

 reached nearly to the bottom, the other gradually 

 ascending ; thus the smallest chicks, by penetrat- 

 ing to the farther end, could nestle their heads and 

 shoulders in the wool, and those which were taller 

 would find the some convenience in the ascending 

 D 4> 



