Birds, 



8317 



For the first month the bird sat most assiduously, not being ob- 

 served to come off the nest, for the necessary food and water, often er 

 than twice in the week, and then for scarcely more than a minute at a 

 time. Nine eggs was the number the birds had been set upon. Three 

 were taken to the Zoological Gardens to be tried by an incubator. One 

 or two got accidentally broken. The first good observation that was 

 obtained of the nest when the bird was off, there were found to be 

 twelve eggs in it, so that three more had been laid in to the original 

 number. Which bird deposited these last? The total number of 

 eggs was sixteen. 



During the fifth week the bird became restless, and I began to be 

 afraid would not hold out the long period. I thought it possible a 

 change might be going to take place in the duties of incubation. But 

 no relief was offered. The bird at large continued to walk about with 

 the most stolid indifference. The one on the nest settled again, only 

 coming off for refreshment twice a-day instead of twice a-week. 



Everything went on prosperously till the seventh week had expired. 

 My family were absent at our place of worship : on coming home, im- 

 mediately on entering the premises and catching sight of the bird at 

 large, with that instinctive perception we cannot always trace to any 

 particular cause, I saw that something was wrong. I hastened to the 

 nest, and found it deserted ! The bird that ought to have been there 

 was wandering about in a state of irritation and excitement, and had 

 evidently been disturbed. All my hopes of young emeus suddenly 

 sunk down to zero. I did everything I could devise to entice the 

 bird back again to the nest, but it was all of no avail. When, from 

 further observation, 1 was quite convinced it was a case of hopeless 

 disturbance from some unknown cause, I reported the state of affairs 

 in-doors, where the disappointment was fully equal to mine, and sat 

 down to think. 



It was really touching to see that fine nest of eggs, — not an every- 

 day production in this country, and so near completion of their period 

 for bursting into fresh life, — exposed to the cold world without pro- 

 tection ! The first thing I did was to take out a bucket of moderately 

 warm water, into which the eggs were all plunged, to arrest their 

 further chilling, in case of there being any life in them. My wife then 

 improvised a sand-bath, by means of a large saucepan or fish-kettle, 

 which was placed over the boiler by the side of the kitchen fire. Into 

 this the most likely eggs were transferred, and carefully covered with 

 flannel. In the mean time she had performed the old farm-house 

 experiment of immersing them individually in hot water, and pro- 



