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THE PEA FOWL. 



WE cannot, in this place, resist the opportunity now 

 afforded, of noting down some circumstances which fell 

 under our own observation, regarding the sagacity of 

 a favourite Pea Hen, generally supposed a very wild 

 bird : In her third year, and very early in spring, the 

 weather being most unsettled and stormy, she com- 

 menced the process of depositing her eggs, the first of 

 which she dropped in a situation perfectly open and 

 unprotected, the consequence of which, as might have 

 been expected, was its immediate destruction by the 

 Magpies. Of this blasting of her hopes, however, she 

 was unconscious ; and she sat perched, during a fearful 

 night, upon the naked branch of a high tree, watching 

 over the precious deposit. Next day she soon dis- 

 covered her loss, and immediately selected a more 

 secluded spot for her future operations, in the imme- 

 diate view, and about fifty yards from our dwelling- 

 house. We used the precaution to cover this second 

 egg with the dried leaves of the beech tree. The third 

 day she not only deposited another egg, but added some 

 more leaves -herself, which we encouraged sparingly, 



