26 ‘BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
the interest taken in the subject by the late Sir William 
Hooker, I have had transmitted to me extracts from a 
journal kept by Mr. Hardy, which show that on May 
6th, 1801, he received a bustard’s egg from Mr. Winner, 
of Litcham; on May 13th, 1802, two eggs from Mr. 
Sainty, of Heacham; as also, on June 10th, 1803, and 
June 7th, 1804. On October 26th, 1804, Mr. Hardy 
writes that he received a young male bustard from Lord 
Petre, who at that time owned the Buckenham estate, 
near Thetford. On May 30th, 1808, three eggs were 
sent him by Mr. Pratt (of Ryston ?), and on November 
8th, 1813, he received “ a fine male bustard about six 
months old from George Turner, of Thetford.” To all the 
entries of eggs, except the first, Mr. Hardy adds that he 
placed them under a hen immediately. With reference, 
also, to Mr. Hardy’s birds, Yarrell (“ Brit. Bds.,”’ 3rd ed., 
vol. ii., p. 422) quotes the following passage from a note 
at the foot of page 197, in Bennett’s edition of White’s 
Selborne :—‘*‘ Two birds of this kind, male and female, 
have been kept in the garden ground belonging to the 
Norwich Infirmary, and have but lately been sold by 
the owner of them. The male bird was very beautiful 
and courageous, apparently afraid of nothing, seizing any 
one that came near him by the coat; yet, on the appear- 
ance of any small hawk high in the air, he would squat 
close to the ground, expressing strong signs of fear. 
The female was very shy.” ‘This, so-called, Norwich 
“Infirmary,” however, as I have very recently ascer- 
tained, was no other than the Norfolk and Norwich 
Hospital, from whose archives it appears that Mr. George 
Hardy filled the office of house surgeon and apothecary 
to that institution from the year 1793 to 1826, and it was, 
therefore, in the enclosure at the back of the Hospital 
that his experiments in hatching and rearing bustards 
were carried on. In confirmation of the above I may 
add the following communication very kindly sent me 
