PART IL THE EGG. 

 CHAPTER I. 



ITS DEPOSITION. 



THE first and earliest duty of a bird is completed 

 when its nest is finished. Provided with a home 

 of the most comfortable construction, suited in 

 every respect to the rearing of their young, the 

 deposition of the eggs now becomes of the most 

 pressing importance, and it takes place in a short 

 time, generally a day or two after the nest 

 is completed. The object of this short delay is 

 stated to be to give firmness to the yet damp 

 materials, and to allow them time to dry. The 

 Rev. L. Jenyns says : "I observe that birds 

 sometimes begin the shell of their nest, or the 

 outer part of the fabric formed of the coarser 

 materials, before it is wanted, and let it remain in 

 this state for some days, and then finish it on a 



