8318 



Birds. 



nounced that there was actual life in at least five of them. This 

 encouraged us to persevere. I had previously ascertained, for the 

 sake of information, the heat of an ordinary sitting hen, and found it 

 to be about 93° — 94°. I allowed 10 Q more, as probable for these 

 large semi-tropical birds. I got my sand-bath, therefore, up to 104^, 

 and endeavoured to keep it within the range of 100° to 108°. 

 I wrote off to the Zoological Gardens, stating my misfortune, hardly 

 supposing, but asking if anything could be done, and begging, if so, 

 they would let me know by telegram ; and 1 sat up with the sand- 

 bath nearly all night, regulating the temperature, and occasionally 

 turning the eggs. 



The next afternoon— delayed, from our post-address not happening 

 to coincide with our nearest railroad station — I received the following 

 telegraphic message, "Send up the eggs; we have a bird that will 

 hatch them."'' The effect was almost electrical ! Though how — 

 what bird, what hopes, what certainty — was all a mystery, we had 

 nothing to do but gratefully and implicitly to obey in faith, to the 

 best of our ability. It was then just too late to catch our last train, 

 with time to return the same evening, and having mastered the regula- 

 tion of the temperature, and feeling confident there was no further 

 injury being sustained, I did not think it well to run the risk of hurry, 

 but took another night at watching and regulating. 



The next morning a quantity of bran was made hot, the eggs care- 

 fully packed with it in a tin case, the whole rapidly enveloped in 

 many folds of flannel, and despatched per first train by the hands of a 

 careful messenger, with instructions to use every reasonable celerity. 

 He arrived at the Gardens with them quite safely, and found the Super- 

 intendent ready to receive them: they were taken out still quite warm, 

 and immediately placed under an emeu, which for the last fortnight 

 had wanted to sit, without any eggs ! 



The reward of this care and perseverance against such a multitude 

 of chances, and the really extraordinary part of the business, is that in 

 the course of the following week four young emeus were hatched out, 

 to the no small interest and gratification of all concerned, and no 

 doubt to the astonishment of the bird, which had sat such an abnor- 

 mally short time for the living result. The brood formed one of the 

 advertised attractions of the Gardens during the early part of last 

 season. One of them lived only about six weeks ; another, which 

 grew up with a defective spine, died in the winter; the other two still 

 grace the Gardens, having arrived at nearly full emeu's estate. There 

 was also a fine chick in an egg that had received a crack, and two or 



