13 i THE WOOD GROUSE OR CAPERCAILZIE. 
Other seven, she sat steadily for five weeks. On 
examining the eggs, however, they were all found 
to he addle. 
“ In the early part of 1831, three apartments were 
ingeniously formed adjoining one another. The 
hen was placed in the central chamber, between 
which and the enclosure on either side, each of which 
contained a male, there was an easy communication ; 
so contrived however, that the female could have ac- 
cess to both the males, whilst they, from their greater 
size, could neither approach each other, nor disturb 
the female as long as she chose to remain in her own 
apartment. In May and June of that year she laid 
twelve eggs, seven of which were set under a com- 
mon hen. Of the.se, four were hatched in an appa- 
rently healthy state, one was addle, and the other 
two contained dead birds. Of those left with the ca- 
percailzie hen, she broke one, and sat upon the other 
four, of which two were hatched, and the other two 
were found to contain dead birds. Of the two 
hatched one soon died. Both the barn-door hen 
and the female capercailzie sat twenty-nine days, 
from the time the laying was completed till the young 
were hatched ; and Mr Gumming calls ray attention 
to the fact, that there were birds in all the eggs of 
this year’s laying except one. 
“ My visit to Braemar took place about the first 
week of last August. I think all the five young 
were then alive, and although only a few weeks old, 
they were by that time larger than the largest moor- 
