76 VARIOUS SHAPES. 



well known to need description. It is, how- 

 ever, subject to great variations in form, 

 size, and weight ; and when these are unu- 

 sual, they are termed monstrosities. They 

 are sometimes pointed at both ends, or per- 

 fectly round, or even cylindrical. Some 

 years ago I saw a hen's egg in one of the 

 museums in New-York that was of the fig- 

 ure of a kidney-bean, with one of its ends 

 much elongated. I found last year, in one 

 of my nests, an egg of an exceedingly irreg- 

 ular figure. It was about two inches long ; 

 the upper end was drawn out into a fine, 

 spiral twist, and must have received its shape 

 during some accidental delay in its passage 

 through the oviduct. The size of the egg 

 is also subject to great variations, from that 

 of a quarter of an ounce to three, and even 

 four ounces ; but the average weight is near- 

 ly what we have stated above. 



Pullets, when they first commence laying, 

 drop eggs not larger than those of a com- 

 mon quail, and I have seen them not larger 

 than a sparrow's egg. It is a popular be- 

 lief that such, also, are dropped when the 



