50 WILD NATURE'S WAYS, 



to brood her chicks in the most matter-of-fact 

 way. 



A severe method of testing how far blind 

 maternal passion had subverted her intelligence 

 now suggested itself to my mind, and, tapping 

 the wooden floor of the loft with my heel, I fright- 

 ened her away again. Taking the chicks out, I 

 thrust my bared arm through the hay, and, placing 

 my hand, knuckles downwards, in the cavity of 

 the nest, waited not very hopefully, I must 

 admit to see whether the bird would detect the 

 imposture. Presently in she came, and, without 

 making any preliminary inspection of the con- 

 tents of her nest, sat down, and actually brooded 

 my fingers. She hustled two of them up between 

 her thighs and her body, and astonished me by 

 the extraordinary heat which she imparted. She 

 only brought food in once during my experiments, 

 and that was whilst her offspring occupied the nest. 



It is only fair to add that the bird was to 

 some extent handicapped by the comparatively 

 small amount of light penetrating the hole she 

 occupied ; but the same cannot be said of peewits 

 dropping their eggs beside imitations crudely cut 

 out of a piece of wood with a pocket-knife. An 

 old Norfolk marshman whom I knew years ago 

 used to add to his maintenance by gathering 

 plovers' eggs for the market, and when they were 

 commanding the handsome price of ten shillings 



