BOB WHITE. 147 



more birds than one will lay in the same nest, as is done 

 by the domestic guinea-hen and some other birds. I have 

 been told by close observers that in such cases there was 

 but one male, which was acting a Mormon's part; but 

 of this I can not speak of my own knowledge. I am confi- 

 dent, however, that more than one hen will lay in the 

 same nest. The eggs are pure white, and a blunt oval 

 in shape. The period of incubation is variously given, 

 but it is most probably twenty-one days. 



It has been a mooted question whether the cock assists 

 the hen in sitting on the eggs. I have several times seen 

 the cock-bird on the nest, and there are those in whom I 

 have the utmost confidence who state that they have 

 repeatedly seen it. One especially close observer, and a 

 trustworthy man, informs me that he watched several 

 nests, and that in each and every case the hen-bird sat 

 during the night. Early in the morning she would leave 

 the nest in care of the cock. He would sit on it for an 

 hour or two, until the hen returned from search of food, 

 then she would sit till the latter part of the afternoon, 

 when he would again relieve her for a similar period, she 

 returning to the nest a little before sundown. I do not 

 know that this routine is invariably adopted, but that the 

 cock -bird does assist the hen in hatching the eggs, I have 

 not the least doubt. When the weather is very warm, 

 both birds will sometimes vacate the nest for an hour or 

 two at noon. 



The young birds, when hatched, are tiny things, but 

 Nature has thrown many safeguards around them for 

 their protection. A wonderful power of concealment, the 

 vigilance of their parents, and the instinct, or rather 

 reasoning power, which causes the hen to act as if she were 

 crippled, and thereby draw the intruder away from her 

 infant brood, are among the most beautiful of Nature's 

 provisions for the protection of the weak and helpless. 



