RESTORATION. 39 



deposited about a couple of dozen. She showed, however, 

 so strong a disposition to break and eat them, that she re- 

 quired to be narrowly watched at the time of laying, for the 

 purpose of having them removed, for otherwise she would 

 have destroyed the whole. In fact, she did succeed in break- 

 ing most of them, but eight were obtained uninjured. These 

 were set under a common hen, but only one bird was hatched, 

 and it died soon after. In the spring of 1830 the hen Caper- 

 cailzie laid eight eggs. Of these she broke only one, and 

 settling in a motherly manner on the other seven, she sat 

 steadily for five weeks. On examining the eggs, however, 

 they were all found to be addle. 



" In the early part of 1831 three apartments were ingeni- 

 ously formed adjoining one another. The hen was placed 

 in the central chamber, between which and the enclosure on 

 either side, each of which contained a male, there was an easy 

 communication, so contrived, however, that the female could 

 have access to both the males, whilst they, from their greater 

 size, could neither approach each other nor disturb the female 

 as long as she chose to remain in her own apartment. In 

 May and June of that year she laid twelve eggs, seven of 

 which were set under a common hen. Of these four were 

 hatched in an apparently healthy state, one was addle, and 

 the other two contained dead birds. Of those left with the 

 Capercailzie hen she broke one, and sat upon the other four, 

 of which two were hatched, and the other two were found to 

 contain dead birds. Of the two hatched one soon died. 

 Both the barn-door hen and the female Capercailzie sat 

 twenty-nine days from the time the laying was completed 

 till the young were hatched ; and Mr. Cumming calls my 

 attention to the fact that there were birds in all the eggs of 

 this year's laying except one. 



" My visit to Braemar took place about the first week of 

 last August. I think all the five young were then alive, and 



