190 THE LIFE OF A BIRD. 



its pores ; in the denser eggs, the process merely 

 occupying a longer period than in those of a more 

 open texture. That the shell is thus porous may 

 be ascertained by the simplest experiment. If an 

 egg is boiled in an infusion of madder-root, it 

 will, after a little time, on being taken out, be 

 found to have become deeply dyed with the colour 

 of the fluid in which it was immersed ; and this 

 may even penetrate into the white of the egg, 

 staining it in a singular manner. In the north it 

 is a common custom to boil eggs in this way for 

 amusement, at particular seasons of the year ; and 

 on the shell being removed, the white, which is 

 rendered as hard as it is capable of becoming by 

 means of long boiling, is seen tinged with the 

 reddish hue of the liquid. By a little ingenuity, 

 patterns of various kinds may be painted on the 

 shell, the process consisting in enveloping it in a 

 printed piece of calico, the colours of which are 

 not fast, and then boiling. After a while the egg 

 is taken out, and appears in a habit very unlike 

 that of nature. 



It appears that this custom of staining eggs is 

 of very ancient origin. In Roman Catholic coun- 

 tries it appears to have originated in the practice 



