for the French system, or the unattached cock system ; 

 so that they may be left out of our calculations here. 



The Euston system — so called because it was invented 

 by the Duke of Grafton's keeper at Euston — for the 

 hatching of wild pheasants, has never been adopted on 

 that estate for partridges. Nevertheless, it can be applied 

 to these birds with great success, and modifications of it 

 will be found useful on any estate. 



As is now fairly well known, the main principle of 

 this system lies in incubating the eggs artificially, or under 

 hens, and returning them to the partridges on the eve of 

 hatching. The partridges are meanwhile given boiled or 

 dummy eggs to sit on. In this connection it may be said 

 that since the improvement which has been effedled in 

 manufadure of imitation eggs, some kinds are taken to 

 quite satisfadorily by the birds, which will sit on them 

 as if they were their own. 



No eggs should be taken from a nest until there are at 

 least four in it, and no chipped eggs should be given to 

 a bird until she has been sitting ten days, unless a mis- 

 calculation in time has been made, and it is impossible to 

 place the eggs elsewhere. It will be readily understood 

 that in a country where foxes abound numbers of eggs 

 may be saved if treated in this way. 



Again, by this method the hatching of eggs laid round 

 clover fields may often be retarded till after the crop is 

 cut by allowing the partridge to sit for a month on 

 dummy eggs instead of for the usual three weeks. 



The lives of many young birds may, however, be 

 saved by starting the mowing machine in the centre of 

 the clover and grass fields and cutting outwards instead 



4+ 



