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 effect- 

 ually 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 in a 

 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 



