13 1 THE WOOD GROUSE OR CAPERCAILZIE. 



other seven, she sat steadily for five weeks. On 

 examining the eggs, however, they were all found 

 to be addle. 



" In the early part of 1831, three apartments were 

 ingeniously formed adjoining one another. The 

 hen was placed in the central chamber, between 

 which and the enclosure on either side, each of which 

 contained a male, there was an easy communication; 

 so contrived however, that the female could have ac- 

 cess to both the males, whilst they, from their greater 

 size, could neither approach each other, nor disturb 

 the female aa long as she chose to remain in her own 

 apartment. In May and June of that year she laid 

 twelve eggs, seven of which were set under a com- 

 mon hen. Of these, four were hatched in an appa- 

 rently healthy state, one was addle, and the other 

 two contained dead birds. Of those left with the ca- 

 percailzie hen, she broke one, and sat upon the other 

 four, of which two were hatched, and the other two 

 were found to contain dead birds. Of the two 

 hatched one soon died. Both the barn-door hen 

 and the female capercailzie sat twenty-nine days, 

 from the time the laying was completed till the young 

 were hatched ; and Mr Gumming calls my attention 

 to the fact, that there were birds in all the eggs of 

 this year's laying except one. 



" My visit to Braemar took place about the first 

 week of last August. I think all the five young 

 were then alive, and although only a few weeks old, 

 they were by that time larger than the largest moor- 



