FANCIERS’ JOURNAL AND POULTRY EXCHANGE. 423 
(For Fanciers' Journal.) 
IMPREGNATION OF EGGS. 
Dear Editor : 
I send you to-day, for examination, two eggs laid by a 
hen that has been cooped for six weeks, entirely separate 
from a cock, during which time she has hatched and reared 
a brood of chicks. On breaking and examining these eggs 
you will find that in every 'particular they have the same ap- 
pearance as an impregnated egg. I hope this erroneous idea 
that the “ tread ” can be seen in a freshly broken egg will soon 
vanish. I have thoroughly tested this subject by closely 
examining and comparing impregnated and unimpregnated 
eggs, and can see no possible difference, therefore I am 
confident that no examination of fresh eggs can enlighten 
us on this point. In this great age of improvement the 
mystery may yet be made clear. Possibly the problem is 
already solved, and, whenever proof is furnished, I will 
gladly yield the point and thank my instructor. In con- 
nection with this subject, we have another and greater 
mystery. Two lots of eggs, selected promiscuously from the 
same yard, at the same time, may be put under two different 
hens, each of which will perform her duty well. From one 
lot, the number of chicks may be nearly or quite equal to 
the number of eggs, while the other lot will hatch a very | 
small per cent., and the unhatched eggs will often have a 
transparent appearance. I have so much evidence against 
the prevailing opinion that such eggs are impregnated that 
I cannot believe it. 
Now the question arises, why do these eggs have such an 
appearance; and I will add, why do not all eggs hatch 
when apparently produced under the same circumstances, 
and afterwards treated alike? I confess my inability to 
elucidate these points; yet my faith in the ability of your 
contributors encourages me to hope for light on the subject. 
Westmoreland, N. Y., June 8th. J- Y- BlCKNELL. 
[The two eggs arrived safely by mail, and when broken 
had all the appearance of fresh laid eggs. One of them had 
the appearance of having two “ treads ” attached to the yolk, 
one on each end ; the other appeared to have only one 
“tread.” We are glad to glean these facts from the author- 
ity of Mr. Bicknell, probably more light will be thrown on 
this subject by the experience of others who have given it 
more attention than we can devote to it; and we will only 
add, that so far as we have casually noticed, such eggs as 
appeared clear and were broken about the tenth day, ap- 
peared to have no tread or any similar attachment. — Ed ] 
(For Fanciers’ Journal.) 
THE EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA POULTRY 
ASSOCIATION. 
The annual meeting of the Bucks County Poultry Asso- 
ciation was held in Twining’s Hall, Doylestown, Pa., on 
Tuesday June 2d, 1874. The meeting was largely attended 
by the fanciers of Bucks and the adjacent counties. We 
have changed the name of the Association, and I hope that 
all who voted for the change considered their vote well 
before it was given. It is with a feeling of sadness that I 
think this will be the last time my pen will write the name 
under which our first annual exhibition flourished so grandly. 
Hereafter, Mr. Editor (and I most earnestly hope for 
many years to come), our new name, the Eastern Pennsylva- 
nia Poultry Association, will occupy a prominent place in 
the Fanciers’ Journal. We are now ready to receive names for 
membership from all the eastern counties of the State of 
Pennsylvania. Our worthy Corresponding Secretary, Mr. 
T. H. Walton, who has been re-elected, will forward you 
the names of the officers for the ensuing year, together with 
the changes made in the Constitution and By-Laws of the 
Association. I might say, however, that almost all the 
officers of the Association are men that love poultry and 
pet stock, and I hope will make good officers of the Associ- 
ation. Hoping that the next annual exhibition of the 
Eastern Pennsylvania Poultry Association will be a grand 
triumphant success, I am respectfully yours, 
Doylestown, Pa. W . T. Rogers. 
PAT McGEE MAKES A MISTAKE. 
Look-a-here for a minute, me friends, 
An’ a bit of a yarn I will shpin ; 
I think I had best tell ye now, 
For, perhaps, Fll not see ye agin. 
I know that ye’U hardly belave 
All the things I’m agoin’ to tell, 
An’ perhaps ye’ll think I’m tryin’ 
To get oil’ a bit of a sell. 
Ye see ’twas lasht night I was walkin’ 
Down the shtreet with the rest of the hoys, 
We were shmokin, an’ laughin’ an’ talkin’ 
An’ makin' a divil uv a noise — 
An’ down by the big City Buildin’ 
I saw a big crowd that I knew ; 
They were all goin’ up to the hall ; 
So I thought I would go along too. 
An’ there at the foot of the shtairs 
A man shtood, so tall an’ so thin, 
An’ he said I must pay him a quarter 
Before he would let me go in. 
Says I, “ Phatthe divil is up?” 
An’ he answered, sez he. “ Don’t you know 
That some by’s from all over the Shtate 
Are havin’ a big biddy show? ” 
“A biddy show, is it?” sez I, 
“Well pliat in the divil is that? ” 
An’ thin I began to remember 
That my Biddy had got a new hat, 
An’ a big lot of feathers and things 
To go to the show in, she said, 
An’ for want of wings or a tail 
She had shtuck ’em all up in her head. 
An’ I thought if my Biddy was there 
That Pat had better go too, 
Or some rooster’ll be foolin’ around her, 
Which would be a swate how-do-ye-do. 
So I paid him a quarter and went — 
An’ when I got most to the door 
I heard such a squawkin an’ crowin’ 
As I uiver had dreampt uv before. 
An’ I thought to meself that Washburn 
An’ Kingsb’ry, an’ Jose, an’ some more 
Ould cocks had got in there together 
An’ were shtandin’ around on the floor, 
An’ were crowin’ because they were thinkin’ 
To divvy swate Bizzy’d consint, 
Or else that the Ogdin’s hug railroad 
Had begun to pay that tin per cint. 
But I soon found that I was mistakin, 
For not one of those chaps did I see 
But coops and cages were shtandin’ 
Around there as thick as could be. 
Ould men, an’ women, an’ children, 
An’ young chaps an’ swate pretty girls, 
With their dresses so tasty and pretty, 
An’ their hair all bangin’ in curls, 
Were walkin’ around and lookin’ 
At the birds as they cackled and crew, 
An’ they talked, an’ laughed an' giggled 
Till I thought I would never get through. 
But I could’nt see nothin’ of Biddy, 
Though I looked the hall twenty times o’er, 
Till I axed a big man had he seen her, 
That was shtandin’ around by the door. 
Sez he, “Let me see, wasshe entered?” 
“ Uv course she was entered,” sez I, 
“An’ if you don’t tell where to find her 
I’ll put a black cloud round yer eye.” 
Then sez he, “ Was she a Black Spanish, 
Or a Butf Cochin, haythen Chinee, 
Or a Leghorn, or Brahma, or Dorking, 
Or a game cock, or what might she he ?” 
“Me Biddy a game cock, ye blaguard,” 
Sez I, growin’ wratliy, “ bad luck 
To yerself; why me Biddy 
Is jist one dear, swate little duck.” 
“ Oh, a duck,” says he; “is she an Eider, 
Or a Muscovy, Aylesbury or Rouen,” — 
With that I jist got so wratliy 
That I did’nt know what I was doin’, 
An’ I towld him, sez I, “ By the powers 
Of mud, if ye don’t shtop your chaff 
I’ll give ye a tip wid my shtick here 
That will make ye do somethin’ but laugh. 
Think me Biddy’s a bin, ye ould blaguard? 
Me Biddy — the colleen I love. 
I’d have ye jist. know she’s a darlint, 
A beautiful, swate little dove.” 
“ Oh, a dove,” said he ; “ is she a Pouter, 
Or Fantail— ” he never said more, 
For I basted him wid me shillalah, 
An’ laid him out flat on the floor. 
An’ I left in a mighty big hurry 
For me home down in Fore Shtreet, an there 
I found all the children in bed, 
An’ Biddy — aslape in the chair.— Exchange. 
