294 THE GROUSE IN HEALTH AND IN DISEASE 



wet, or frost, and even in the breeding season the destruction 

 of eggs and young caused by climatic conditions does not seem 

 to be disastrous except in a few extreme cases. It is true that 

 many reporters speak to the fact of eggs being destroyed by 

 frost, snow, and rain, and chicks being killed by wet and cold ; 

 but as the statement is often followed by a favourable report 

 upon the young stock on August 12th it is obvious that the 

 damage cannot have been so serious as was supposed, or that 

 what damage there was had been repaired. We have too much 

 faith in the accuracy of the Reports to suppose that no such 

 losses have occurred ; but we believe that where the stock is 

 healthy the nests contain a larger proportion of eggs, and that 

 a larger proportion of these are fertile, consequently a loss of 

 even 25 per cent, of eggs and chicks might still leave a very 

 satisfactory stock of young birds. Then, again, there is always 

 a possibility that these losses may be repaired by means of 

 second broods, and where the parent stock is healthy there 

 is more chance of these second broods being successful. The 

 case is different where the stock is unhealthy, for then the 

 nests contain fewer eggs, the eggs are less fertile, and the parent 

 birds have not sufficient stamina to produce successful second 

 broods. This seems to be a reasonable explanation of the 

 rather puzzling fact that it is only where the parent birds 

 are unhealthy that the young stock seems to be seriously 

 reduced by bad weather in the breeding season. Another 

 possible explanation is that the weather does not affect the case 

 at all, and that the only reason for the failure of the young 

 stock is that the parent birds are unhealthy, and therefore not 

 prolific. But this explanation would entail the discarding of 

 the unanimous evidence of the reporters on the subject, and we 

 think that the evidence goes far to establish the following points, 

 (a) Eggs may be destroyed by (1) snow ; (2) frost ; (3) wet ; 

 their liability to destruction depends upon the stage 

 of development they have reached. If they have not 

 yet been sat on probably none of these agencies will 

 destroy them, provided the hen does not desert or 



