INCUBATION. 77 



ried on on a large scale there is no use in being 

 fastidious. The grand object is to find hens of 

 any sort that are ready, or show indications of 

 being soon ready, to sit. Those which have 

 * stolen nests ' are to be preferred that is to say, 

 those which have of their own accord selected a 

 spot for their nest in some out-of-the-way corner 

 of a barn, stable, loft, or empty pig-stye. If the bird 

 is already sitting on her eggs she should continue 

 to do so until those of the pheasant are ready to 

 be placed under her. The former may then be 

 removed. Pheasants' eggs require about five or 

 six days longer incubation than those of the com- 

 mon fowl, viz., about twenty-six days, and the 

 appearance of the chick should be expected about 

 the twenty-fourth day. Occasionally, as with 

 domestic fowls, the internal coat of the shell 

 will adhere to the young bird, and all its efforts 

 to release itself will prove ineffectual. This is caused 

 by a portion of the white of the egg having become 

 dry from the admission of air through the open- 

 ing which the little prisoner had previously 

 made with his beak, and being thus suddenly 

 changed into a gluey substance, the rudimentary 

 feathers are apt to stick to the sides of the orifice. 

 Under these circumstances it is advisable to assist 

 nature. The aperture may be increased by the 

 application of several gentle blows of any blunt 



