200 THE LIFE OF A BIRD. 



injury, so that the egg was left without lime. In 

 the poultry yard, where the management of fowls 

 is not understood, this frequently occurs. In the 

 Lancet for 1846, a statement is made by a person 

 who kept poultry in London, that he had a hen 

 which constantly deposited her eggs without a 

 shell. This was due, without a doubt, to the bird's 

 confinement, and to its not obtaining access to 

 chalk or lime. Frequently pigeons will peck the 

 mortar from houses, feeling the importance of the 

 lime it contains as a part of their food. Hens will 

 often eat egg-shells with the same view. In the 

 instances of the deposition of shell-less eggs gene- 

 rally, the natural remedy is simply to give the birds 

 a sufficient supply of chalk or lime in other forms. 

 It may be convenient to add in this place the 

 chemical characters of the other parts of the egg 

 the white or albumen, and the yolk. If we suppose 

 a newlaid egg to weigh one thousand grains, which 

 is more than the correct weight, the proportion of 

 its various parts to one another is as follows : 



Shell 106.9 



Albumen 604.2 



Yolk 288.9 



1000.0 



