Animals of the Farm and Poultry Yard
Here is a good pig story. A gentleman named Stephen Harding says:—"I saw an intelligent sow-pig about twelve months old running in an orchard, going to a young apple tree and shaking it, pricking up her ears at the same time as if to listen to hear the apples fall. She then picked the apples up and ate them. After they were all down she shook the tree again and listened, but as there were no more to fall she went away." That might not be very smart in a boy, but it is smart in a pig.
V
THE BIRDS OF THE POULTRY YARD
We have had a long talk about the four-legged home-folks, those animals, big and little, that aid man in hunting, amuse him as house pets, carry him on his journeys, pull his carts and wagons, supply him with milk, butter and cheese, and yield him food for the table, wool for clothing, skins for leather, and other things for other uses.
This is a long list of the good that man gets from the animals he tames and feeds. But it is not the whole. There is another class of animals, two-legged ones this time, with claws instead of hoofs, horny beaks instead of mouths, feathers instead of hair, and wings in place of fore-legs. These are the birds of the poultry yard and the lawn, some of them kept for their eggs, some for their flesh, some for the splendor of their plumage; some of them very useful, others very beautiful.
I am sure that you will enjoy a talk about these winged and feathered creatures. They belong more closely to the home-life of all people than some of our four-legged friends and helpers, as they are kept close to the house and fed by its people, not left to feed themselves in the fields. Best known and most useful among these is the hen or chicken, our clucking friend of the poultry-yard, who fills our pantries with eggs and is served on our tables as one of the best liked foods.