74* Hatching. 



whilst yet in the Qs,g, and iji the form of a 

 ball, renders the support of that weight 

 of the neck and head, perfectly easy to the 

 chicken : for in whatevjer position the egg 

 may be, the head of the cbicken is support- 

 ed either by the body or by the wing, or by 

 both united : in fine, the force of the blows 

 against the shell by the beak, are powerful 

 in proportion to the bulk of the head. The 

 mother's affection for her brood, is always 

 observed to be intensely increased, when 

 she first hears the voice of the chicks 

 through the shells, and the strokes of their 

 little bills against them. 



All chickens do not dispatch the impor- 

 tant task in equal time. Some are able to 

 disencumber themselves of the shell, in the 

 course of an hour from the commencement 

 of tbe operation ; others take two or three 

 hours ; and generally it may be looked up- 

 on as half a day's work : in ease of natural 

 or accidental debility, the period may be 

 extended to twenty-four, or even forty- 

 eight hoursj in which case, however, there 

 is seldom much success in the hatching. 



