264 



THE RUMPLESS FOWL. 



of the scythe ; and two chickens were all that could 

 be saved from the wreck. One of the mowers con- 

 veyed the two young birds in his hat to the villager 

 who had owned the hen, and whose house was hard 

 by. She brought them up at the fire-side. They 

 were male and female. The male was rumpless, 

 and without a tail, whilst the female had a rump, 

 and a tail of ordinary size. 



When the former had become a full-grown fowl, 

 I introduced to it a rumpless hen, by way of com- 

 panion. She laid fourteen eggs, and sat upon them 

 with great perseverance ; but every egg proved 

 addle. After this, she produced a dozen more in 

 the course of the summer ; and she sat upon them, 

 but with no better success. I then substituted a 

 male fowl with a tail, in lieu of her rumpless para- 

 mour ; and they soon became a loving couple. She 

 laid well the summer following, and sat twice ; but 

 her repeated efforts to produce a family were of no 

 avail. During her last sitting, a Malay hen, of pry- 

 ing habits, took the opportunity of her momentary 

 absence from the nest, and laid an egg in it. This 

 produced a chicken, which the rumpless stepmother 

 reared with maternal care. 



It would appear, from these experiments, that 

 the rumpless fowl is not prolific. But Cervantes 

 tells us, that one swallow does not make summer. 



Una golondrina, no hace verano." Wherefore 

 further investigation is absolutely necessary, before 

 the affair in question can be set at rest. However, 

 the testimony which follows tends to prove that the 

 rumpless fowl is fully capable of producing its race. 



