HOW1ETOUN HATCHING-HOUSE. 217 



the aqueduct, so that if any debris was sucked against the mouth, 

 the current in the aqueduct tends to clean it away. Had it been 

 reversed, there would have been the danger of the pipe choking 

 up, as the suction and the current would have acted in the same 

 direction, and every blade of grass, or leaf, or bit of water-weed, 

 however small, would have helped to gather more. I may explain 

 that the main aqueduct was covered only by open slats, and that 

 in windy weather, especially in autumn, the leaves occasionally 

 blew in ; and in winter the perforated zinc at the intake was 

 replaced by wooden slats, through which small bits of weed 

 passed. The mode of taking water by means of a pipe bent in 

 the direction of the current may be found useful for other pur- 

 poses. It would be useful in taking water from swift streams, 

 in situations where a dam was inconvenient, and where a leaf- 

 screen was unnecessary. 



The house had three distributing-spouts. The one at the 

 south end received the short spout from the filter, also the end of 

 the bent pipe from the aqueduct. The old H -spout was again 

 fitted up inside the house, to lead the water to the distributing- 

 spout for the rearing-boxes, and a 3-inch lead pipe was fitted in 

 the end of the H -spout underground, to take the water across 

 to the distributing-spout on the north end of the house. A cleat 

 was fixed in the distributing-spout at the south end, and a cross- 

 spout was fitted to lead the water to the H -spout; this thus had 

 the first of the water. But the spout cleat was so levelled that as 

 soon as the water stood flush with the supply-holes to the hatch- 

 ing-boxes, the flow was strong over the cleat. This enabled me to 

 regulate the supply to the eight hatching-boxes almost indepen- 

 dently of the supply given to the five rearing-boxes. The founda- 

 tion of the house was sunk, to allow the supply to be brought 

 in as high above the floor as possible. Fortunately, the soil was 

 hard fire-clay and boulder-clay, the latter very tenacious, and the 

 fire-clay making the best possible puddling when worked. By 

 cutting a drain to join the one from the 60-feet pond, ample fall 

 was obtained, and all the house kept dry underfoot. One or two 

 ochre holes were found in the boulder-clay, and one, about 3 feet 



