Practical Game Preserving. 



a dark room, and obtain a piece of stout cardboard or thin 

 board, about one foot square, with a small oval hole of rather 

 less dimensions than an average sized pheasant's egg in its 

 centre, as shown at Fig. 5. Then obtain a lamp with a 

 good bright flame and place each egg in turn against 

 the hole in the board and subject it to scrutiny immediately 

 before the flame. The fertile eggs will be all perfectly 

 opaque with the exception of the small space occupied 

 by air at the larger end. Any other of the eggs but the 

 opaque ones are unfertile, and the clear ones, or unfertile 

 eggs, must be removed, and their places be filled by fertile 







FIG. 5. TESTER FOE PHEASANTS' EGGS. 



eggs from one of the nests set down for this purpose. 

 The unfertile eggs can be put by to be employed as food 

 for any young chicks already hatched out ; they can scarcely 

 be kept until the present sittings come off. 



When setting down a number of hens, it is advisable to 

 set one more lot than is needed, as that can be retained for 

 the purpose of contributing eggs in place of the unfertile 

 ones in other nests, which may thus be kept up to their 

 proper complement. Should this odd hen be left with two 



