104 WHAT I HAVE SEEN WHILE FISHING 



It was to smiling Mary at the Nesbitt Arms 

 that I gave the egg to cook and, when I told her 

 under what circumstances I had become possessed 

 of it, she expressed no surprise ; on the contrary, 

 she replied, " My cousin Annie Boyle's hins would 

 sure to be plased with your bargaining and give 

 you a lucky egg to boot." 



I thought I knew all there was to learn about 

 hens, and, of course, I know they regulate their 

 efforts to suit the market price, but that they 

 took cognisance of deals in linen was quite new 

 to me. 



My first fortune was made by collecting eggs 

 at twopence per score, and I considered myself up 

 to every dodge of laying hens, and it was only now 

 and then that one outwitted me and showed she 

 had done so by appearing later on with quite a 

 following of little balls of wool that tried to walk 

 and peck as much like their mother as they could. 

 At certain periods my income was increased by the 

 hens omitting to put shells on their eggs. These 

 required great care, for which I was paid one penny 

 per score extra. 



Professor Miall, so we read, is completely 

 puzzled by the egg. Lecturing at the Royal Insti- 

 tution, he confessed that no one knows quite how 

 the egg-shell is formed. How lucky it would have 

 been for me had the old woman who had charge 

 of the poultry at home been as ignorant in this 

 matter as the professor. She scattered lime about 



