144 BIRDS' NESTS. 



which she supposed to be eggs : but he did 

 not admit that there was any force in this 

 objection, because he never allowed more than 

 half of the eggs in a nest to be changed. 

 "You often find," he said, "in a nest, four 

 young birds, and an addle egg. As soon as 

 the young are hatched, the old bird begins to 

 feed them, without being aware of the presence 

 of the fifth egg ; nor do I believe, when two 

 out of four eggs are hatched, that the old 

 bird discovers that the other two have been 

 changed into pebbles. I cannot see that there 

 is any cruelty in a deception which she cannot 

 detect, and which saves her a half of the trou- 

 ble of supplying her brood with food. I allow 

 that it would be unfeeling if any one were to 

 take away all her eggs, and leave pebbles in 

 their place ; and, in like manner, it would be 

 unfeeling to allow a hen to sit on a solitary 

 chalk egg ; but I cannot conceive that the 

 most scrupulous person would blame a farmer 

 for inducing his poultry to lay in certain places, 



