146 THE LIFE OF A BIRD. 



to deposit its eggs, after the first, at intervals 

 within twenty-four hours. But some facts are on 

 record which render it probable that the bird can, 

 to a certain degree at any rate, restrain the depo- 

 sition of its eggs, and lay no more for a time. 

 Mr. Jesse says, in his Gleanings, " A wonderful 

 fact respecting eggs is, that some birds have the 

 property of either retaining their egg after it has 

 arrived at maturity, or of suppressing altogether 

 the further progress of the eggs which it would 

 otherwise have laid in regular order. I have on 

 several occasions purchased pullets for my farm- 

 yards which had just begun to lay. Perhaps on their 

 way to their new home they would drop one egg 

 in the basket in which they were confined ; but 1 

 have invariably found that, on arriving at a strange 

 place, they have altogether ceased to lay any more 

 eggs till they had become habituated to their 

 companions, and had made themselves acquainted 

 with the localities of their new situation." It is 

 added, that the probable cause of this is their rest- 

 lessness, and not knowing where to go at first in 

 search of what was necessary to enable them to 

 bring their eggs to perfection. The subject is 

 still in great obscurity, and it is impossible to state 



