308 Poachers and Poaching. 



It must not be supposed that all the so-called 

 plovers' eggs exposed for sale have really been 

 laid by that species. The eggs of rare wading 

 birds have frequently been selected from among 

 them, and those of the snipe are not at all 

 uncommon. In cooking, it is discovered that 

 numbers of eggs are far advanced in incubation, 

 when, of course, they are useless ; and it is not 

 always easy to apply tests to determine this while 

 purchasing. At table the eggs are usually served 

 hard boiled. Sometimes they are shelled and 

 served up with B.echamel sauce ; though their 

 more frequent use is as decoration for salad, the 

 beautiful colour of the " white" admirably setting 

 off the dish. 



Not only are plovers' eggs delicacies, but some 

 of the birds themselves are highly appreciated at 

 table. Of all the species known to naturalists, 

 however, two only are recognised by gourmets. 

 These are the green and gold: the first the common 

 kind, which produces the plovers' eggs ; the 

 second a handsome bird, somewhat rare, and 

 larger than the former. It has beautiful golden 

 markings, a soft liquid eye, and breeds upon the 

 tops of the highest mountains. The golden plover 

 fetches a much higher price than the green, and 

 living the two are easily distinguishable. When 

 cooked the difference in size is not appreciable, 

 though the former may always be known by the 

 absence of the hind-toe. Lapwings were formerly 



