THE COCK. li 



Maternal atf'ecliun <>t the hen. 



disputed points, and it' they cannot agree there 

 is no appeal but to the sword. Some of them 

 have a notion that their cocks are invulnerable; 

 under^this persuasion a father has been known> 

 on his death-bed, to direct his son to lay his 

 whole property on a certain bird, as if confident 

 of success. 



The fecundity of the ben is great; sbe gene- 

 rally lays two eggs in three days, and continues 

 to lay through the greatest part of the year, ex- 

 cepting the time of moulting, which lasts about 

 two months. After laying about twenty-five or 

 thirty eggs, she prepares for the painful task of 

 incubation, in which her patience and perseve- 

 rance are truly extraordinary. A sitting hen is 

 a lively emblem of the most affectionate solici- 

 tude and attention ; she covers her eggs w r ith 

 her wings, fosters them with a genial warmth, 

 changing them gently that all the parts may re- 

 ceive an equal degree of heat. She seems per- 

 fectly sensible of the importance of her employ- 

 ment, and is so intent on her occupation as to 

 neglect in some measure the necessary supplies 

 of food and drink . In about three weeks the 

 young brood burst from their confinement, and 

 the hen, from the most cowardly and voracious, 

 becomes, in the protection of her young, the 

 most daring and abstemious of animals. 



As the chickens reared by the hen bear no 

 proportion to the number of eggs she produces/ 

 many artificial schemes of rearing have been at- 

 B 2 



