PHEASANTS: IN PEACE 121 
to the abnormally long attempt to hatch them made 
by domestic sitters. Look into the state of things 
from the imprisoned chick’s point of view. Escape 
from the egg is due solely to the exertions of the 
chick—the weaker it is, the less strength it has to 
make the necessary exertions. But the drier and 
more brittle the outside wall of shell is—rather than 
moist and tough—the easier it is to break; and, 
conversely, the drier the inside membranous bag 
which encloses the chick, the tougher it becomes, 
and the harder to burst or tear. A chick is ready to 
escape from the shell directly the process of absorb- 
ing the yolk is completed. If it does not escape in 
due time, while the membrane is moist and easily 
rent, what happens? Why, owing to the admission 
of air through the ‘chip-hole,’ the membrane dries, 
toughens, and shrivels about the chick, which 
perishes, and the shell, which cannot shrink, peels 
off in pieces. Thus we have, I think, the true ex- 
planation of that trouble for which many of us have 
hoped there was a remedy other than prevention. 
