304 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Oct. 8, 1904. 
Some Animals I Have Studied. 
X, — The Language of Fowls. 
A few years ago "monkey language" was an absorbing 
theme among certain sensational (I say it respectfully) 
naturalists. I have often wondered why the familiar — 
perhaps too familiar — domestic hen has not received the 
attention she justly deserves in this line of research. I 
will venture to assert that no other creature, lower than 
human, possesses a language so complete ' or convenient, 
and so easily learned by man. What I mean by this is 
that although dogs or horses may have a greater number 
of words or expressions understood only by their own 
kind, man may easily distinguish a greater variety of 
sounds with undoubted different meanings among hen 
utterances than in the sounds given out by any other 
creature. 
Now, notwithstanding their distinctness, I can conceive 
of no combinations of letters in our alphabet, nor any 
other, that could indicate their exact utterance; therefore 
I will hot attempt the words themselves, but will simply 
give their English equivalents ; first assuring the reader 
that this is no hoax, but fact, which I believe I can prove 
to any who may match me among hens, interpreting their 
sayings; or, better, fact which any close observer may 
verify for himself if he is fortunately situated where he 
can study the interesting and useful hen. The hen is an 
active,, restless, avaricious being, therefore the larger por- 
tion of her vocabulary consists of exclamations. 
Let us follow a mother hen with very young chicks, 
keeping back far enough to leave her to her own devices, 
but looking constantly at the flock and listening to every 
tone. 
"Hold ! Don't go so far away ! Keep near me — keep 
near me !" she frequently says, as some heedless boy 
chick shows too great an enthusiasm. It doesn't sound a 
bit like that, but we know instantly that that is what she 
means, by her manner and the behavior of her family — 
although the prodigal may hesitate to obey; for he looks 
back, seems to say, "I'm not going out of sight, don't 
get anxious," and the others gather nearer, peeping self- 
complacently, "We obey our mother, don't we?" Conceal 
yourself behind that rosebush. Throw a chip over the 
flock so that it will sail gracefully far beyond. 
"Squat !" instantly shouts the mother, and every chick, 
including the straying one, who is by this time entirely 
out of her sight behind a shrub, obeys with astonishing 
quickness. For a few seconds she continues anxiously to 
admonish them in low, gurgling tones, while they press 
closer and closer to the ground, if possible concealing 
themselves. 
"False alarm — jump up !" is also at once obeyed, and 
the search for insect prey is eagerly resumed. 
"Come on ! come on !" she orders, and they trip along 
merrily, yet leisurely. But presently she pauses, looks 
back, and screams : "Hurry up !" and any and all strag- 
glers show that they know what she means by exhibiting 
a sudden burst of speed. 
To convince yourself beyond a doubt that a certain 
sound has a certain meaning to the chicks, you practice 
one of them until you can fairly imitate it. The com- 
mand to squat, or drop low and keep quiet, is one of the 
easiest, and the after admonition is also very easy, both 
of which, if well executed, are obeyed as promptly and 
minutely for you as for the hen. At my command, they 
will even rise and run about again, although the mother 
may remain in an attitude of fear — for a good mother 
is always more anxious and fearful than her young. 
Presently the hen finds encouraging indications, and 
begins to scratch. But by this time each chick has some 
task of his own to absorb him, and at first pays no atten- 
tion to her. "Look !" she says, "Look ! look ! look ! look !" 
(rapidly repeating the word, or syllable, about four times, 
usually after the first call), and now it really sounds like 
the English word look. The little ones "look," and 
gather round expectantly. She picks up a small, soft 
worm, and offers it to the first taker. She continues to 
scratch and pick up worms, and the feast continues amid 
musical peepings and giggles of delight. But finally a 
huge pinching bug is captured, and a wild uproar and 
fierce struggle ensues. Some greedy young rooster makes 
a dive at it, snatches it and runs away, several of his 
bolder comrades following, and falling over each Other 
in a frantic effort to take it away from'- him, while the 
mother wisely cautions, "Look out ! Look out !" in tones 
distinct and unmistakable. 
Suddenly she gazes at some moving speck in the cloud- 
less blue above, and says, slowly and calmly, but im- 
pressively: "O-o-o-o-o children, be still! I-i-i-i-i see a— 
I don't kno-o-o-w what !" They all cease struggling and 
look about, with breathless interest. Some of the wiser 
ones say, "Chee-e-e-e-e, Chee-e-e-e-e !" and begin to cast 
an eye toward shelter. 
The moving object descends, comes nearer, nearer, 
nearer, and begins to assume a larger form. Then the 
hen yells, "Hawk !" much more emphatically than she 
ever yelled "Squat!" and instead of quiet efforts at con- 
cealment as before, there is indescribable panic, even the 
oldest rooster, chief of the barnyard, forgetting his dig- 
nity, and racing for the house, loudly shouting, "Take 
keer! Take keer!" 
Down swoops the hawk — a large one— with counte- 
nance terrible as lightning, at this moment paralyzing 
his intended victim with terror. But now the mother, 
deserted by her erstwhile boasted defender, shows the 
power of love to spur on to attempt the seeming impossi- 
ble, and with a truly heartrending scream, hurls herself 
madly at the assailant. But hold your breath one moment 
and behold a marvelous change in the scene. For here 
comes to the rescue, just in the nick of time, one who is 
as watchful as the mother, keen of eye as the hawk itself, 
swift as the hurricane, mightier than any bird, and brave 
as anything that lives on earth or in the sea — the farm 
dog! And the bird monster turns back, almost too late 
to save himself, and flutters weakly away — thwarted, 
humiliated, wretched ! This is a picture from real Hfe, 
though hardly life-size. How many readers have wit- .. 
nessed this in all its details ? 
After a time the fowls, big and little, all venture out 
again. The hen whose fortunes we have been following 
gets too near another mother hen, whose young are near 
the age of her own. Both mothers ruffle their feathers 
M$ m things thai m mntnaily pensive, Pup pf hpn 
No. 2's chicks impudently enters No. i's camp, foraging, 
the little ones receive him civilly, if not cordially. But 
as soon as their mother espies him, she makes a hideous 
noise, calling him a bad name or two, and making insult- 
ing allusions to his mother. Then she picks him up with 
unnecessary violence and seems about to kill him. Hen 
No. 2 screams with rage, and furiously attacks her: 
_ 'Hi, what folly! Stop this!" mutters the old rooster, 
in low but stern, gurgling tones, and attempts to separate 
them. Sometimes he succeeds, but often he doesn't. In 
the latter case, out again comes old Watch, who quickly 
knocks them apart with his forepaws and nose, without 
harming either of the combatants. I have known fighting 
hens to be thus separated by some playful puppy or kit- 
ten, or pig. But the best peacemaker among farm birds 
that I ever knew was a pet wild turkey, who began his 
self-imposed police duties when no bigger than a quail. 
For some unknown reason all birds always ceased fight- 
ing when he interfered, no matter how much larger one 
or both of them might be. And, unlike a chicken, he 
always seemed to prefer to puiiish the one most likely to 
win! The cock invariably, I believe, punishes the one 
that is already incapacitated or giving way. The defeated 
hens now stump off with their complaining broods, their 
feathers erected, as if to make themselves as hateful to 
each other as possible, alternately hurling stinging epi- 
thets across the space between them and discordantly 
urging their young ones to avoid those other "low, vulgar 
chicks !" Sometimes a mother takes a spite at one of her 
own little ones, and again there are distinct utterances — 
words somewhat different from sounds uttered on any 
other occasion. She seems to say, "You worthless one, 
you ought to be killed to save future disgrace !" and the 
poor little innocent seems to agree with her, for it makes 
no effort to escape, though it may scream with pain. In 
this instance old Watch ought to be allowed to more 
than interfere; he should immediately execute the mon- 
strous mother, no matter what her theories may be 
about improving the hen race by "the survival of the 
fittest." _ Indeed, if allowed to live, such a hen is liable to 
become insane and slay all her young, and all others that 
she can get hold of. 
An old rooster stands with a group of hens in an open 
space. A crow flies over. At first glimpse of the stranger 
they all dodge, then one or more say, "Crow !" and every 
trace of fear vanishes. It sounds like "crow," too, only I 
have noticed that they always say "crow" whenever 
startled merely, and not quite frightened. The old 
polygamist then drops his off wing with a rattling noise, 
trots sidewise up to a sober, thoughtful-looking hen, and 
hoarsely chuckles: "You're a beauty! You're all right! 
But don't you forget that I'm your best friend!" Then, 
repeating the same eccentric motion on the opposite side 
of her, perhaps all about her, he continues: "Say, don't 
let that young upstart, my would-be rival, fool you. I 
saw him strutting at you yesterday. I tell you he's no 
good. And I'm going to whip him, too, if I can per- 
suade the coward to come over here." Thereupon he 
steps out where he can make a brave show, tiptoes, 
stretches his head upward to the utmost, and gives vent 
to his clarion, that mightiest of all bird tones, and most 
renowned. A young fellow a hundred feet away, sur- 
rounded by a small group of admirers who are far-seeing 
enough to comprehend something of his future greatness, 
though he is just beginning to "win his spurs," answers 
defiantly, and circles about his challenger at a distance ; 
but he will come nearer some day, and yet nearer another 
day, and there will be bloody heads, and day by day the 
struggle will continue until the old one dies. 
L. R. Morphew. 
[to be continued.] 
Another View of Bird Protection. 
; In the current issue of the London Field, Mr. W. B. 
Tegetmeier writes of the multitudinous, contradictory, 
and in some cases unintelligible laws for the protection 
of birds in the British Islands, and puts forth some views 
on bird protection in general. He says: 
"There is at the present time a ridiculous passion for 
the protection of all birds, without any discrimination 
whatever. Sentimentalists choose to imagine that all 
birds were specially created for the benefit of man, and 
may be encouraged beneficially in any numbers and in 
any district. Why this theory is not extended by them 
to mammals is not clear or reasonable; but faddists are 
seldom reasonable, and the result is that the most in- 
jurious birds, as well as those that are beneficial, are 
alike protected. They are introduced into countries 
where they have done immense harm, and it is alleged that 
agriculture and gardening are greatly benefited by their 
multiplication. The ignorance of the members of the 
county councils, who are seldom ornithologists, and in 
many cases not even agriculturists or horticulturists, re- 
garding birds is unbounded. It is a fact that the taking 
of eggs of certain migratory birds that have never been 
known to lay in this country is prohibited. The councils 
do not distinguish between those birds that are natives 
of England and those that arrive in countless thousands 
in the migratory season. They regard the larks, which 
in the autumn are sold in tens of thousands in our 
markets, as birds which are bred here, whereas they are 
migratory birds that come from the Continent, and will 
return in a few weeks if not captured. They make the 
same error • with regard to the immense flocks of wood 
pigeons which arrive and damage our crops to an enor- 
mous extent, occasionally utterly devastating the fields 
on which they alight. They do not take into considera- 
tion that if it were the design of Providence that birds 
should be allowed to multiply in any number for the 
benefit of man, their extremely slow extension over the 
country would not have occurred. If sparrows are an 
advantage, and designed for the benefit of man, what 
explanation can be given of the fact that it is only at 
this period of^ the earth's history, the nineteenth, century 
of the Christian era, that they have become numerous 
in Scotland, and the same with starlings, which were 
almost unknown in the north of. England even a few 
generations ago? 
"The persons who plead for the universal preservation 
pf birds, appear, to lack reasoning power, but act on sen- 
timental notions only, 
■The (iwnrip f]om by- \i\<M mmi* with the fHgltfitt 
possible consideration from those who clamor for the 
protection of all species. Few persons nowadays would 
like the golden eagle, which is now a scarce bird, to be 
destroyed, but how many take into consideration the fact 
that formerly large subscriptions were raised to provide 
ropes for the means of its destruction, as its presence in 
large numbers caused the greatest injury to the flock 
masters in the north of England and Scotland? Jardine 
recorded that in three years more than 200 golden eagles 
were destroyed in order to protect the lambs of one dis- 
trict, and this as late as eighty years ago. The raven, 
which is one of the most destructive of all birds to lambs 
and even sheep, is, in consequence of its exciting the 
sympathy of spectators, protected all the year round in 
the Isle of Wight, and in numerous counties the eggs 
also are protected. The carrion crow, possibly on ac- 
count of its objectionable name, does not come under the 
protection of the councils. The number of vastly in- 
jurious birds which are definitely protected is very great. 
Bullfinches are known to be among the worst enemies 
that fruit farmers and gardeners can have to contend 
with. The damage done by blackbirds and thrushes is, 
to say the least of it, enormous." 
A LiKpotian Engineer. 
Seated in my log cabin I noticed a commotion at the 
foot of the washstand. A worm, an inch in length, and 
of the centipede variety, was threshing right and left. 
A spider not larger in its body than a mustard seed, and 
whose diminutive legs were invisible to the naked eye, 
was swiftly runnig along a gossamer strand that led 
from the head of the worm to the leg of the stand, a foot 
or more from the floor. Back and forth it speeded along 
its cable, deftly touching the worm and spinning a new 
mesh as it returned to its lair, only to again repeat the 
operation. With every new approach of the spider the 
worm evidenced fresh symptoms of distress. 
Presently I noticed the forward part of the worm be- 
gin to leave the floor. The cables were pulling taut or 
the worm was crawling away, and the spring of the web 
was carrying it off its feet. Thresh and twist and squirm 
as it might, the spider journeyed back and forth, making 
assurance doubly sure with each, strand attached to the 
body of the struggling worm. 
I noticed that the worm was fast losing its grip upon 
the surface of the floor, the last few remaining legs grip- 
ping the boards as the rest of the body swung convul- 
sively, now to the right, now to the left, in its vain strug- 
gles to rend itself loose. The strain was becoming 
greater and greater, and by careful watching I noted that 
the death grip of the worm upon the floor was gradually 
relaxing, until the hold was finally broken. When, won- 
derful to relate, it swung free of the floor and began to 
be lifted nearer and nearer to the lair oL the spider. 
The size of the worm and the gossamer-like strands of 
the web were so out of proportion that one wonders at 
their strength. But the microscopic engineer understood 
his business thoroughly, for up, up, up, the worm went, 
until the lair was reached, then with a quick movement 
the spider enveloped the yet struggling worm in a gossa- 
mer winding sheet, and all was over. 
The spider had supplied its larder, if in doing so it 
accomplished a greater engineering feat than any in- 
volved in the building of the Pyramids or the construc- 
tion of the Brooklyn bridge. Charles Cristadoro. 
Clever Hans. 
Berlin, Sept. 13.— The remarkable horse called "Clever 
H ans" has just been examined by a special commission of 
experts, in order that a decision might be arrived at 
whether it is a horse possessed of extraordinary brain 
power or merely like many others of its tribe, peculiarly 
adapted to learning tricks from patient trainers. The 
commission consisted of the well-known circus proprietor, 
Herr Paul Busch; Count Otto zu Castell Ruedenhausen, 
a retired army captain; Dr. Grabow, a retired school- 
master; Dr. Ludwig Heck, Director of the Berlin 
Zoological Gardens; Major von Keller, Major Gen. Koer- 
ing, Dr. Miessner, a veterinary surgeon, Prof. Nagel, of 
the Physiological Institute of the University of Berlin, 
and several' other prominent men. 
The commission has issued a statement declaring that it 
is of opinion that there is no trickery whatever in the 
performances of the horse, and that the methods em- 
ployed by the owner, Herr von Osten, in teaching Hans, 
differ essentially from those used by trainers, and cor- 
respond with those used in teaching children in ele- 
mentary schools. They hold that the methods employed 
have in principle nothing whatever to do with "training" 
in the accepted sense of* the word, and are worthy of 
scientific examination. The report of these gentlemen is 
interesting, for Herr von Osten had tried in vain to per- 
suade scientific men to take the case of "Clever Hans" 
seriously. Herr Busch, of circus fame, who was one of 
the commission, had openly admitted beforehand that he 
was extremely skeptical about the matter, and believed 
that the horse had been taught merely to learn a few 
clever tricks just like other well-known circus horses. 
Now, however, he admits that he was mistaken. — London 
Standard. 
flnotber 100 Sportsmen's finds. 
Some of the Queer Discoveries Made by Those "Who Are 
Looking for Game or Fish. 
104 
One of the most remarkable and romantic gold dis- 
coveries of which there is any record has been made in 
New Zealand, as reported in the London Chronicle. A 
certain Albert Winter has discovered in the Mokihinui 
district a valuable gold reef. The discovery was made in 
a remarkable way. Mr, Winter stooped at the edge of a 
creek to pick up a piece of stone to throw at a wood- 
hen, and in doing so he noticed that the stone was gold- 
bearing quartz. 
Promptly he returned to the town, took out his miner's 
rights, and with his. mate pegged off claims on the 
ground, and ) subsequently sold out his interest for 
£^iOqo : This is pne of tlig Jijggest golfj ftfi$§ pyof ftl&dg 
