BIRDS. 
359 
them ; and yet this animal, who is so active and un- 
settled at other times, in this moment forgets her 
natural disposition, and fixes herself on the eggs as 
long as is convenient ; she submits to restraint, re- 
nounces all pleasure, and continues almost twenty 
days inseparable from her brood. The male, on 
his part, shares and alleviates her fatigue ; he brings 
food to his faithful mate, repeats his journeys with- 
out intermission, and waits on her with a collation 
ready prepared in his bill. He is indefatigable in 
his attendance^ and never discontinues his assiduity 
unless it is to entertain her with his warbling. In- 
deed they both so admirably fill their particular 
departments, that we are at a loss to know, whether 
the painful perseverance of the one, or the officious 
inquietude of the other, is most to be admired. 
It will here be proper, before we proceed to the 
brood, to give a description of what the egg con- 
tains, as well as of the manner in which the young 
is there formed, and how it afterwards issues from 
its confinement. The egg of the hen is best adapted 
for this purpose, where the parts are sufficiently ap- 
parent for us to distinguish them with ease. Besides 
the yolk and the whites, which are visible to every 
body, we can see the ligaments that sustain the 
yolk towards the centre of the egg, and can like- 
wise discover several membranes ; one of which en- 
folds the yolk, another the first white, a third and 
fourth encloses the whole ; and lastly, we see the 
shell formed for the preservation and defence of the 
rest. What lies within these inclosures has the first 
