CHAP. :v,j FARMING FOR LADIES. 101 



With respect to the arrangement of nests, it 

 must however be remarked, that in whatever 

 mode you place them, or whatever care may 

 be taken to prevent hens from interfering with 

 each other, this cannot be always guarded 

 against. It is, indeed, extraordinary, that if 

 a hen slily builds her nest in a hedge, 

 although it will be known by every fowl 

 which is accustomed to go near the spot, 

 yet not one is ever found to trespass upon 

 it : thus showing that Nature, when left 

 to herself, regulates the actions of animals 

 better than when they are governed by man ; 

 and that, when a hen " steals a nest," as it is 

 called, she should not be removed from it. 



As the hen cannot distinguish her own 

 eggs from those of others, she will sit upon 

 any that may be offered to her ; and it is not 

 unusual to make her sit upon the eggs of dif- 

 ferent sorts of fowls. In choosing those on 

 which she is intended to sit, care should 

 be taken to use those which have been the 

 most recently layed, and if there be any dif- 

 ference of size, the largest should be chosen ; 

 but always as nearly equal as possible. Care 

 should also be taken to ascertain whether 



