PRESERVATION 111 



all over the ground is assured; the wastage, 

 caused by birds sitting on unfertile eggs, 

 ceases ; and the keeper can exactly regulate 

 the hatching time of any nest so that the 

 chicks start life under the most propitious 

 circumstances. It might be supposed 

 that the keeper would find himself left 

 with more eggs on hand than he could 

 dispose of, especially should accidents 

 befall many of the hens who are sitting 

 on dummies. But as it has been found 

 quite safe to put as many as thirty eggs in 

 a nest, questions of supply and demand 

 are generally easy to regulate. 



The working of this system is inex- 

 pensive, though doubtless it entails hard 

 work on the part of the keepers, which 

 might lead some to oppose its introduc- 

 tion, or demand an increased staff to cope 

 with the work. To any urging such 

 objections, let it be pointed out that in 

 Lincolnshire one man has worked a beat 

 of 1500 acres on the Euston system, with 

 a hatch of 1200 birds in a season. 



On dry soils, where no springs or 



