JULY, 1881. 17 



would have been hatched first, and would then have 

 tumbled the eggs of the titlark out of the nest to make 

 room for itself, thus explaining the many instances in 

 which the eggs of the owners of nests in which young 

 cuckoos are found lie about the nest outside. It has 

 been stated, seemingly, that the cuckoo has the power of 

 carrying its eggs in its body for some days, until a favour- 

 able opportunity occurs to drop them into a secure 

 resting place, so that it might be partially vivified before 

 being deposited, and thus explain its forward state com- 

 pared with the foster-parent's own. The point to be 

 settled is, whether this has been done, or whether it 

 really matures more rapidly than other small birds ? The 

 former supposition seems the more probable, seeing that 

 the young cuckoo has to be prepared, and is really found 

 prepared, for either emergency. Thus it can either jostle 

 out the foster-brethren, or throw out the unhatched eggs 

 unless this latter proceeding is the work of the parent 

 cuckoo when it finds its egg near the point of hatching, 

 an unlikely event, as the foster parents would not submit 

 to this, unless the young " giant " were there to mono- 

 polise their affection and attention. 



We were plodding along in the steady downfall, en- 

 deavouring to draw amusement from the sloppy 

 surroundings, and, seeing we were in for a thorough 

 soaking, seeking to make the best of it. As we arrived 

 at the long road across the moss the path became a 

 series of rivulets crossing and intersecting the road in 

 all directions. Suddenly we found ourselves making 

 awkward movements to avoid stamping on living 

 creatures, all ready to escape from us if they could, but 

 so numerous we really could scarcely allow them to 

 escape. Some distance was covered ere we could really 



