470 THE GROUSE IN HEALTH AND IN DISEASE 



Late broods eventually become the most fertile soil for Strongylosis, which is 

 always potentially dangerous even in healthy birds. This being so, 



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early it would obviously be desirable to encourage early nesting, and 



to save early clutches of eggs from destruction. 



There is, unfortunately, no possibility of encouraging birds to nest early 

 unless by artificial feeding on a considerable scale ; but at least it is possible 

 to avoid the loss of early nests which is so often the result of burning too 

 late into April. Gamekeepers sometimes speak as though no harm is done 

 if a few early nests are burned over, and as though the second clutches of 

 eggs were every bit as good for the moor as the first hatchings. They may 

 be so far as the shooting of that same season is concerned with good luck 

 as many birds may be brought to the bag ; but for the succeeding season it 

 is likely to be the worst thing that could happen, since it breeds weakly 

 birds that will perhaps manage to survive an open winter, only to disseminate 

 disease in the following year if they do not actually succumb to it themselves. 



There are, moreover, reasons, based on actual experience, why second clutches 

 must always produce a smaller proportion of fertile eggs than first clutches. 

 The following account comes directly from a well - known moor proprietor 

 Evidence as to the result of hatching three clutches of eggs, each clutch 

 mished consisting of the first eggs laid by three different hen Grouse. All 

 I e a cond were consecutively " fertilised " by one and the same Grouse cock. 

 The eggs had thus every possible chance, on the mother's side, 

 of producing the full number of healthy chicks in every sitting. 



The first hen having paired off with this healthy two-year-old cock Grouse, 

 sat and hatched ten chickens out of ten eggs. A second hen then paired 

 off with the same cock, not immediately, but some time after the first hen 

 had begun to sit. 



This second hen laid eight eggs, but only four were fertile, and four 

 chicks only appeared. The same cock again, after a similar interval, paired off 

 with a third hen which then laid eight eggs, but not one of them was fertile. 

 Could there be stronger evidence for the superior value of a first clutch of 

 eggs ? Under natural conditions the first clutch receives the full value of 

 the cock bird with the best the hen can produce when in her best condition. 

 Suppose that this nest is burned, or still worse, suppose that the hen has 

 been sitting for some weeks, and is then forced to desert by stress of weather 

 or disturbance by vermin. We have now, instead of a half-spent cock with 



