WELLS. IDO 



Bomcslic birds. '^^'"•'"' ,^^«" -^""S^^*'' 



term. term. term. 



Turkeys sit- C Hens 17 24 3«? 



ting upon •? Ducks 24 27 30 



the eg^gs'of (Turkeys 24 26 30 



HensVitting up- C Ducks 26 30 34 



on the eggs" of ( Hens 19 21 24 



Ducks 28 30 32 



Geese 27 30 33 



Pigeons 16 18 20 



The chickens commonly come forth by their own strength, but when 

 they remain in the shell twenty-four hours more after it begins to ap- 

 pear fractured, it is a sign that they need external aid to disengage them 

 from it. The chicken may be too weak to finish the work which re- 

 mains to be done, and a great service is rendered it by breaking the shell 

 around the whole circumference, from the place where the fracture has 

 commenced, by striking gently on it with some hard substance. After 

 this is done the eflbrts of the chickens suffice to separate the two parts 

 of the shell. 



Sometimes the introduction of air into the shell has dried that por- 

 tion of the white of the egg which moistened the feathers in the contact 

 with the membrane, and the chicken finds itself glued to its place: to 

 relieve it from this predicament the shell may be broken in pieces : but 

 it would be better, to guard against its sufferings, by moistening with the 

 end of the finger, or a rag slightly wet, all the places where the down 

 is glued ; the chicken then disengages itself." 



COMMON THINGS, NO. H. 



WELLS. 



The theory of springs appears to be well understood. The water 

 which falls upon certain elevated portions of the earth's surface, after 

 percolating through the pores or fissures of various geological forma- 

 tions, frequently arives at an impenetrable stratum where it is interrupted 

 in its course, and forms a subterranean reservoir, or its direction is 

 changed, and it continues to flow along the stratuiTf. When the inclina- 

 tion of the strata and the face of the country are such as will enable these 

 streams to find outlets and appear above the surface, springs are formed. 



If this theory be correct, it is evident that springs must always be 

 supplied from higher levels, and that they would be sought for in vain 

 on elevated summit-s, or on extensive plains. A rolling country with 

 porous substrata presents the conditions most favorable for their forma- 

 tion. In situations where these natural supplies cannot be obtained arti- 

 ficial means must be resorted to. and we find that the practice of dig- 

 ging wells was connnon in the earliest ages. 1 



