Concord, Mass.
1900.
June 27
(No 3)
  My walk finally extended itself across the railroad
and up through the cove to Arnold's house where
I was shown the Quail's nest. It was just over
the wall from the main road in an apple orchard in the side of a
low mound close to an old stump, surrounded by
short & apparently dead grass which afforded it
practically no shelter; but the nest was so deeply
sunk into the side of the mound that the eggs could
not be readily seen from above although they were
all visible and very conspicuous when we stood in front
of the nest a few feet off. Arnold said that the
bird was sitting this forenoon but we found her absent
this evening. At first glance the nest & its contents looked
all right but on close inspection we were surprised
to find that all but three of the eggs had hatched.
The shells of all but two had been left in the nest
& most of them were arranged in such a way as to
look like perfect eggs while several of them had the
two halves hinged on one side and fitting closely
together all around the edges of the fracture so that
it was necessary to pick them up & examine them
closely before we could make sure that they were
not whole. The shells of one of the eggs which were
outside the nest lay directly in front of it, that 
of the other was to one side & a foot or more
distant from the entrance. Arnold says that
the hen Quail would allow him to approach
within about five feet when she would slip off
and run away through the grass. He has heard the
cock regularly whistling near the nest. I doubt now if
this can be the bird we have heard from the cabin.
Ten eggs were crowded together in a very small space.
Quail's nest
& 17 eggs
42