400 



NOTES. 



" In about four or live days the cook came hastily up stairs, 

 and declared she heard the chicks chirp. I went, and distinctly 

 heard the little creatures chirp indeed ; and observed a small part 

 of one egg broken, and as if something was forcing against the 

 skin within the shell. (Here I may mention, that on all the eggs 

 I observed a circular line of shell broken by the chick, although 

 the film or inside coating of the shell remained sound : and in most 

 pheasant eggs, which had been hatched by the parent, I have 

 found the one-half of the shell nicely put within the other so that 

 the shell seemed only to be a half egg*.) Next day the first bird 

 appeared, and was pretty strong and able to move about. In succession 

 ten, I think, made their appearance ; and all continued to live for some 

 days. And could we have prevailed on them to eat, I have no doubt 



they might have been reared. Mrs. thinks we were too kind ; 



for a general interest was excited, and all and every body offered advice 

 or assistance. And I own when we saw the little creatures begin to be 

 weak, and felt them as if claiming assistance, by nestling themselves in 

 our breast or between the hands, the heart would have been hard, which 

 would not have felt sympathy, and yearned to afford assistance. But 

 we could not hit upon substantial food. Ants' eggs, milk, every thing 

 we could think of was offered ; but no disposition to eat was evinced ; 

 and after four or five days of suffering they died. As a last resource they 

 were taken to the short grass before the door, which seemed much to 

 revive them. And although, when in the house, they appeared weak 

 and incapable of much action, when in the grass I saw some make 

 wonderful exertion, perhaps to hide from the haunts of men. We now 

 begin to think they were kept too warm, after being hatched : but that 

 is not likely to have prevented their eating. I forgot to mention that 

 the eggs were exposed to much rain the night they were deserted by 

 the mother." 



This closes the account of the partridges.- My correspondent adds, 

 that he had often taken common chicks the day they appeared, and 

 reared them in the house. And " I well recollect," he proceeds, " that 



Mrs. found one somewhat troublesome, and we went to the 



yard to put it with a mother, who had her brood of about a similar age. 

 Mrs. put her bird down beside the others, and ran into an ad- 

 joining house, and peeped at what was going on. The little creature 

 began to make most piteous and loud complaining, and looked about in 



* I have explained these facts in my " Habits of Birds. " Pages 170 and 171, 

 — Editor. 



