1886. } Causes of Forest Rotation. 853 
Wabash river. There the hens laid about two thousand eggs a 
day for about a week, while the boat was being repaired, making 
about fourteen thousand eggs laid. The crows carried these eggs 
—how many I can’t say—southward across the creek and buried 
them in Huxford’s field, more than a half mile distant. That was 
in early spring. Soon after Huxford and his boys broke that 
field for corn, and the plow turned up hundreds of eggs, and per- 
haps thousands, as they were too numerous to think of counting. 
When the broken ground was afterward furrowed off for planting, 
’ ’ many More eggs were exposed, and after the corn came up and 
= Was being plowed, hundreds more were exposed, Very probably 
the plows exposed less than two-thirds of those buried, as the 
plow-cut would go below the depth likely to be buried. Hux- 
fords took their dinners to this field, and they cooked the eggs 
thus found by the fire where they made their coffee, and the eggs 
remained good till the first plowing of the corn in early May, 
when they became tired of them and ceased to notice them fur- 
ther. John Huxford, a wealthy farmer of this county, and one 
of the boys who plowed the field, told me about finding and 
using the eggs The “stoving” of Williams’ chicken boat I 
myself remember, as I then lived with an uncle on Sugar creek, 
d not more than three miles distant from the field. 
. Might this not be a good way to preserve eggs? The field 
| as dry, alluvial, rather sandy soil. 
; . Suppose the eggs had been acorns, and the field had not been 
| disturbed with the plow, and also suppose the rank bottom-weeds 
* Since writing the above, I have seen and talked again with Mr. Huxford, and 
find that I am mistaken about an immaterial fact. It was not the boat that was in- 
Jared on the mill-dam, but one that was built there several years later. The farmers 
brought their chickens in before the boat was ready, and turned them loose in 
Cheezem’s orchard on the south side of Sugar creek. The crows carried the eggs 
_ 8Cross to the north side of the creek, and buried them in the Chatsey.field (which 
Was sold for taxes, and Huxford bought it). The balance of the statement is correct. 
Presume I inferred the stove beat, because it occurred at the same place. 
I have told this circumstances often, and have found people who manifested some 
_ _Pucism, because of its rare occurrence. But I have also found several other per 
who have found eggs buried in the ground, and they also say the eggs appeared 
; ‘be sound when found. Hens, when not too much confined, hide their nests, and 
| << crow does not ventrre into ambush to find them. It was chen rare that 
i kens were crowded together but uncooped, in such numbers, and since shipments 
z made by railroad it never occurs; so of course the case is a rare one. Any one 
3 : 'nted with the habits, or nature of the crow, knows he is much given to varry- 
MG things from place to place and burying them., — 
” 
