DARKNESS NECESSARY. 89 



boxes at work, and he will see the whole 

 thing in a moment.* 



"With all your precautions for keeping the 

 stream clear, you will find a deposit settle 

 on the eggs, and this to a greater or less 

 extent. To avoid this, keep them dark ; put 

 boards over the tops of the boxes, and, 

 if you please, get some common roofing slates, 

 and place these on your walnut-sized stones, 

 taking care that the water shall flow freely 

 under them. You will find the slates will 

 catch the deposit which falls from above 

 downwards, and you can easily take them 

 out and wash them when dirty. It is, in 

 my opinion, a mistake, to actually bury the 

 eggs in gravel ; the slates and the walnut- 



* If Mr. Ponder is not at home, ask at the Red Lion Hotel 

 for the keys, and the keeper, Andrew, will go with you. 



