250 THE BEAUTIFUL LADDER. 
the truth of the surmise. Near one of the old 
logs the rude nest of the bull-bat was found, 
containing the usual two handsome speckled 
eggs. This fright by the poor night-hawk has 
been of great use through life; for ever after, 
any unusual occurrence which might be tor¬ 
tured by ignorance into something dread or 
supernatural was carefully searched into, and 
generally with the same easy solution. 
“ The special ends provided for in an egg are 
among the most striking and beautiful in Na¬ 
ture. To enable the young bird, at maturity, 
to‘ break its way into the world, the shell must 
be capable of being easily broken from within; 
but in making this provision a formation must 
be adopted that will sufficiently resist a force 
exerted in the opposite direction. And the egg 
completely meets these conditions. The oval 
shape secures the well-known strength of a 
tubular formation; and every boy is familiar 
with the force it requires to break an egg when 
it is applied endwise. It is also seen that any 
shape giving edges or angles would be at once 
fatal to its safety; but its elliptical form gives 
no salient points for injury or attack. Within, 
the egg is a perfect laboratory of chemical and 
