FUTURE GERME. 79 



posed to be firmly established, and is im- 

 plicitly believed, that a sharp-pointed egg 

 contains the male, and the rounded the fe- 

 male germe. By this rule it would be diffi- 

 cult to say what would be the sex from a 

 regularly rounded egg, or from one pointed 

 at both ends. Among all polygamous birds, 

 our domestic fowl, it is quite obvious 

 .ere must be more females than males, 

 and yet, by the above rule, the males must 

 predominate. A better test is to examine 

 the egg by candlelight, about the third day 

 after incubation ; a small vacancy is ob- 

 served underneath the shell, at one end ; if 

 this is exactly at the point, it is supposed to 

 contain a male germe ; if on one side, it is 

 a female. 



The number of eggs annually produced 

 varies with the climate, breed, and the at- 

 tention paid to the hens. Buffon asserts 

 that a hen, under favourable circumstances, 

 will lay one hundred and fifty eggs in a 

 year, besides bringing up two broods of 

 chickens ; but this appears to be an over-es- 

 timate for this climate. He states that " it 



