Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 7.djvu/267

 10 S. VII. MARCH 16, 1907.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

in the chambers below these last. On the following day, some of the eggs in the former chambers are removed, and placed on the floors of the ovens above, where the tires have been extinguished. The general heat maintained during the process is from

100 to 103 Fahrenheit's thermometer On the

tAventieth day, some of the eggs^first put in are hatched ; but most on the twenty-first day ; that is, after the same period as is required in the case of natural incubation." 'An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians,' vol. ii. pp. 4, 7>.

I may add that Pliny records, as a modern invention, the hatching of eggs covered with chaff in fire-warmed places," where a man was employed to turn them over (bk. x. ch. Ixxvi.). ST. SWITHIN.

Artificial incubation, like many other arts and devices, is said to have been under- stood and practised in Egypt from time immemorial, and some knowledge of this fact may have conceivably stimulated Sir Thomas More. According to authoritative statements on the subject, the Egyptians effect their purpose through the use of " comparatively simple ovens," and by this means they are said to produce at the present time thirty millions of chickens per annum. It would appear that successful experiments in the art were not made in Western Europe till late in the eighteenth century. In 1777 Bonnemain set a fruitful example with a hatching apparatus which proved serviceable for the Parisian markets. What has happened since is matter of general knowledge. THOMAS BAYNE.

Why not " Incubators " for the title ? Paul Lucas, who undertook a voyage to the East by the orders of Louis XIV., gives a description and engraving of incubators ("fours ou Ton fait eclore les poulets ") as used in the whole of Egypt in his days. His book was published at Rouen in 1719, and the plate in question faces p. 7 in vol. ii.

L. L. K.

" WHAT WANTS THAT KNAVE THAT A KING SHOULD HAVE ? " (10 S. vii. 169.) This is the " question of appeal " with which James V. of Scotland sealed the fate of the Border chieftain John Armstrong. In or about 1529, says Lyndsay of Pitscottie, the famous reiver was induced to do homage within the royal quarters, the King being in his neighbourhood, ostensibly on a hunting expedition, but fully resolved in reality " to daunton the thieves of Tividaill and Annerdaill." Coming as he did with a brave display of loyalty, Armstrong had expected a gracious reception, but he was

quickly undeceived. Pitscottie graphically delineates the situation in these terms :

"When the king saw him and his men so- gorgeous in their apparrell, and so many braw men vndir ane tirrantis commandement, throwardlie, he turned about his face, and bad tak that tirrant out of his sight, saying, ' Quhat wantis yon knave that a

king sould have ? He sieing no hope of the kingis

tavour towardis him, said verrie proudlie, ' I am bot ane fooll to seik grace at ane graceless face. Bot had 1 knawin, Sir, that yee would have takin my lyff this day, I sould have leved vpoun the borderis in disphyte of king Harie and yow baith ; for I knaw king Harie wold doun weigh my best hors with gold to knaw that I war condemned to die this day.' So he was led to the scaffold, and he and all his men hanged."

For the ballad of ' Johnie Armstrang,' beginning " Sum speikis of lords, sum speikis of lairds," see 'Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border,' i. 407, ed. 1833. '

THOMAS BAYNE.

See Pitscottie's 'History,' p. 145, quoted in the introduction to ' Johnie Armstrang ' in Scott's ' Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border,' vol. i. p. 119 (Edinburgh, Archibald Con- stable & Co., 1825). T. F. D.

The words occur in the ballad of ' Johnie Armstrang.' Its story is that of James V. of Scotland, who summoned to his presence John Armstrong, Laird of Gilknockie. Obeying the royal mandate, Gilknockie presented himself before the king "with all his men sae brave to see," and was forth- with denounced as a traitor, the monarch- exclaiming :

What wants that knave that a king suld haif,,

But the sword of honour arid the crown ? The incident is one of the most familiar tragedies in Border history. Armstrong was reputed to be as good a chieftain as ever was upon the borders either of Scotland or England.

Historical details will be found in Robt. Bruce Armstrong's ' History of Liddesdale,' &c., vol. i. p. 274 et seq., where the ballad is also given on p. 277. The version is that printed by Prof. Child in ' English and Scottish Popular Ballads,' No. 169c. under the title of ' Johnie Armstrang,' taken from Allan Ramsay's ' Ever Green,' 1724, ii. 190, and there said to be " copied from a gentle- man's mouth of the name of Armstrang, who is the 6th generation from this John." R. OLIVER HESLOP.

Newcastle-upoii-Tyne.

See ' D.N.B.,' s.n. ' Armstrong, John, or Johnie. of Gilnockie.' Se\eral verses of" the ballad will be found under this name- in William Anderson's ' Scottish Nation.' LIONEL SCHANK.