126 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



sand, and another tier is placed opposite the interstices of the sub- 

 tier, and so on till the complement is reached, three or fom- tiers 

 amounting to between twelve and sixteen eggs. The chamber or 

 cavity immediately containing the eggs is about fourteen inches from 

 wall to wall. 



An egg is deposited every third day. A great amount of toil 

 devolves upon the hen, assisted by her mate, because they have to 

 dismantle and rebuild a greater portion of the mound at the laying 

 of each egg. A mound containing eggs is always left conical shaped 

 in dull or wet weather, but in warm sunny days it is hollow like a 

 miniature extinct volcano, which enables the heat from the sun's rays 

 to concentrate and penetrate the centi-e among the eggs, and when 

 covered up by the owners at sundown, the heat so absorbed is 

 retained for a lengthened period. 



In building and razing the mounds the birds use their strong feet 

 for scraping, but the loose sand is swept up and impelled forward by 

 the aid of their breast and wings. 



As previously mentioned, the laying season commences about the 

 beginning of September, and extends through the two following 

 months, consequently as the female approaches the complement of 

 her eggs, in the one mound eggs are found in various s^tages of 

 incubation. It has not yet been noted what period elapses to 

 consummate incubation. From careful reckoning I should think 

 about six weeks, for the following reasons: — First, my brother Mr, 

 W. E. G. Campbell, of Nhill, last year took a mound with thirteen 

 eggs, and newly hatched chickens, Now, as the bird lays two eggs 

 a week, (or one every other third or fourth day), that would give 

 about six weeks. Second, as some of the latter laying birds, 

 terminate their clutch about the end of November, the last of the 

 young have been observed emerging from mounds about the middle 

 of January. 



The eggs, which are laid early in the morning, are placed in their 

 perpendicular position by the parent, with the aid of its feet, scraping 

 up the sand first on one side, then the other. From the position of 

 the eggs, as a natural consequence, the chicks are hatched in an up- 

 right position, their legs drawn up in front, with their toes near their 

 beak. As soon as they are delivered from the shell, they wriggle 

 through the running sand, and all at once enter on an independent 

 existence of their own. 



Some authorities state that all the chickens are hatched at one 

 time, and that by some peculiar process of nature, the development 

 of the first eggs is arrested till the whole are laid ; also the parents 

 are in readiness to attend their young as soon as they appear. Both 

 are misconceptions. The latter may have arisen from the fact that 

 after the first egg is laid, the birds frequently visit the mound, at 

 least once a day for purposes other than to lay, to repair damage that 



