212 THE KEEPER'S BOOK 



when the young are so far self-sustaining as to be able 

 to chip the shell ; and it has been known, even before 

 the period of the process of incubation, that a desertion 

 and absence of outside heat for twenty-four hours has 

 not killed the embryo. At any rate, without arguing 

 the case, the hen partridge does hatch off these twenty- 

 five chipped eggs. It will therefore happen that three 

 old birds will care for all the eggs of five, so that two 

 birds out of five are not kept sitting upon sham eggs, 

 but have their nests destroyed. The object of this is 

 that they should start laying again, and in order that 

 this should be certain, these two are robbed before 

 incubation begins, for it is a questionable point if par- 

 tridges that have once become broody very often lay 

 again ; if they do, how early or rather how late they 

 do it. Personally, I do not believe many ever lay 

 again that season if they have once started to sit. At 

 any rate, the risk is not worth running, and as these 

 two birds will each be good for about eight second nest 

 eggs, if the first are taken in time, the moral is obvious. 

 In practice, this seems to be the utmost improvement 

 that has proved successful. Its gross result for the five 

 birds may be stated thus Safety from thunderstorms 

 and from vermin for the incubating eggs, and besides, 

 ninety-one eggs instead of seventy-five for every five 

 birds." 



Feeding of the Young Birds. We have already 

 spoken in former paragraphs as to the feeding of the 

 young chicks which have been placed under the care 



