RENNIE'S MONTAGU. 5 
One is rather at a loss to know how the professor 
discovered that the eggs of the dabchick are affected 
by their near vicinity to moist plants or to water, 
unless they are covered either by the old bird, or 
with dry hay. The dabchicks raise their nests upon 
a superstructure far above watermark. Now, the 
height of the nest from the water, and the thickness 
of the materials with which it is lined, will effectu- 
ally secure it from damp. Put your hand into the 
nest of the next dabchick which you discover, and 
you will find that it is quite dry. 
The waterhen is another bird which generally 
builds its nest upon the sedges and rushes ; and it 
carefully covers its eggs, both before and after it 
begins to sit: but sometimes this bird makes its 
nest in a place warm and comfortable. 
In 1828, I formed a little structure, about a foot 
square, on a dry island. It was intended for a 
duck ; and it was built of brick and mortar. The 
top was well secured with a flag; and there was a 
hole left in the side, just large enough to let ina 
duck. Some dry hay was put into the place, to 
serve as a nest for the duck. But it so happened 
that the duck had to go somewhere else to lay her 
eggs ; for a waterhen took possession of this little 
structure ; and I found her eggs covered with hay, 
both before and after she began to sit. Did she do 
this to keep the eggs warm, lest their vicinity to 
the water should prove fatal to the embryo chicks ? 
In 1826, a wild duck made its nest within two 
yards of the water’s edge, and upon ground not more 
B 3 
