THE EARTH'S BOUNTY 



out animal food, until the middle of February, 

 when meat or ground fresh bone must form 

 part of their diet if eggs are to be plentiful 

 and the little ones strong. 



By the middle of March boxes a foot square, 

 with front and one side knocked out, were se- 

 creted under brush, in different parts of the in- 

 closure, with the hope that the birds would find 

 and nest in them later in the season. The rea- 

 son for knocking out the side of the box is to 

 allow the bird to jnest on the earth, which they 

 seem to prefer. I've been asked, " Why put 

 boxes at all?" and, as the question may occur 

 to the reader, it will be answered. Boxes pro- 

 tect the sitting birds from four-footed ene- 

 mies that might creep up from the rear and 

 attack her or steal the eggs. 



The first year the birds were allowed to nest 

 and rear their own broods. Subsequently 

 some of the eggs from each nest were stolen, 

 and set under bantam hens. As with most 

 game and water birds, this is the best plan, 

 as the domestic hen of any size is more amena- 



249 



