208 BRITISH FERTILITY. 



the fly-catcher, eight ; and so on ; all or nearly all 

 exceeding the number laid by corresponding species 

 in this country. The highest number of eggs of the 

 majority of our birds is five ; some of the wrens and 

 creepers and titmice occasionally produce six, or 

 even more ; but as a rule one sees only three or four 

 eggs in the nests of our common birds. Our quail 

 seems to produce more eggs than the European spe- 

 cies, and our swift more. 



Then this superabundance of eggs is protected by 

 such warm and compact nests. The nest of the wil- 

 low warbler, to which I have referred, is a kind of 

 thatched cottage upholstered with feathers. It is 

 placed upon the ground, and is dome -shaped, like 

 that of our meadow mouse, the entrance being on the 

 side. The chaffinch, the most abundant and univer- 

 sal of the British birds, builds a nest in the white 

 thorn that is a marvel of compactness and neatness. 

 It is made mainly of fine moss and wool. The nest 

 of Jenny Wren, with its dozen or more of eggs, is 

 too perfect for art, and too cunning for nature. 

 Those I saw were placed amid the roots of trees on 

 a steep bank by the roadside. You behold a mass 

 of fine green moss set in an irregular frame-work of 

 roots, with a round hole in the middle of it. As far 

 in as your finger can reach, it is exquisitely soft and 

 delicately modeled. When removed from its place, 

 it is a large mass of moss with the nest at the heart 

 of it. 



Then add to these things the comparative immu- 



