lesser Eggs, as they differ in Proportion; the largest of these Eggs is near in bigness to that of a Goose, the rest of the Eggs gradually of a lesser Size. We had the curiosity after Three Weeks residence, to make a Calcule of the number of Eggs bestowed upon those of our Boat, and the Stewart's Birlin, or Galley, the whole amounted to Sixteen thousand Eggs; and without all doubt, the Inhabitants, who were tripple our Number, consumed many more Eggs and Fowls than we could. From this it is easy to imagine, that a vast number of Fowls must resort here all Summer, which is yet the more probable if it be considered, that every Fowl lays but one Egg at a time, if allowed to hatch."-P. 12. Subsequently (p. 66) he tells us, "The Eggs are found to be of an Astringent and Windy Quality to Strangers, but, it seems, are not so to the Inhabitants, who are used to Eat them from the Nest (?). Our Men upon their arrival Eating greedly of them became Costive and Feverish," &c. * * * (Then follows the remedy, which seems to have astonished the natives.)

But this diet is to be had fresh only during a short part of the summer, and provision must be made to prevent famine in the winter, when it is too stormy to fish; therefore, says Martin, "They preserve their Eggs commonly in their Stone-Pyramids, scattering the burnt Ashes of Turf under and about them, to defend them from the Air, dryness being their only Preservative, and moisture their Consumption; they preserve them Six, Seven, or Eight Months, as above said; and then they become Appetizing (?) and Loosening, especially those that begin to turn." Later travellers inform us that the same system still continues to be practised.

The shells of these sea-birds' Eggs are more fragile than

of a Duck; its head, Upper-side of the Neck all downwards of a darkBrown, and White Breast, the Bill strait and sharp pointed; the upper Chop hangs over the lower; its Feet and Claws are Black."

* Does this mean heavy on the chest, from the Italian a, and petto, the chest?

those of the common Hen, which circumstance must cause them to be more difficult to preserve; and turf-ashes clearly make a sweeter and more effectual packing than lime-water, or the means usually adopted in England. But they are only to be had in certain localities. Woodashes are too light, and cinder-ashes too loose to exclude the air. The Irish plan of smearing fresh-laid Eggs with butter answers well for a limited time, but is insufficient to keep them through the winter. The plan I have found to succeed best, and can recommend, is to dip each Egg into melted pork-lard, rubbing it into the shell with your finger, and pack them in an old fig-drum, or butter firkin, setting every Egg upright, with the small end downwards. Eggs thus prepared in August, directly after harvest, have been boiled and eaten with relish by myself and family in the following January. They were not like the Eggs we are used to in spring; but I heard no complaint from the little ones, and they were much better than any kept Eggs we could buy.

The following is a cheap and easy recipe on the same principle. Pack the Eggs to be preserved in an upright earthen vessel, with their small ends downwards. Procure from your butcher a few pounds of rough tallow the same day on which the sheep is killed; have this immediately cut into small pieces and melted down; strain it from the scraps, as is done with pork-lard, and pour it while warm, not hot, over the Eggs in the jar till they are completely covered. When all is cold and firm, set the vessel in a cool dry place till its contents are wanted.

The rough tallow will cost about 3d. a pound, and if treated as directed will be free from its usual unpleasant smell, caused by the fleshy parts being suffered to remain in the fat till melting day comes. When the Eggs are used, the grease need not be wasted, but will serve for many homely household purposes.

But for those who scorn preserved Eggs, and must and will have fresh ones during the winter, the means most desirable to obtain success are to have young Hens

pullets hatched early the previous spring are the bestextreme liberality in feeding, and a cautious abstinence from overstocking the poultry-yard. Eggs are the superfluity of the animal's nutrition-the profitable balance of its stock of provision. A certain quantity of food will keep a certain quantity of Hens in health, without being sufficient to cause them to lay. Increase the quantity of food, or decrease the number of Hens, and you have a superabundance, which produces Eggs. But as the rejected scraps of every family, and the refuse odds and ends of every farming premises are tolerably steady in their amount, taking one month with another, it is better to have a small number of Hens, leaving them to forage from the supply which is constantly open to them, than to trust to extra hand-feeding, which may be often neglected or shortened.

A warm and dry night's lodging is good, but not so confinement during the day, even in the best of poultry houses. The Hens will always keep themselves out of the wet, and no care can compensate for the exercise and variety of food afforded them by a state of liberty.

There is nothing so instructive as a case, whether in law, physic, or poultry-keeping. During the hard weather last winter, our own Hens not laying, we obtained a plentiful supply fresh laid from a neighbouring farm. The Hens were common dunghill mongrels, the accommodation for them not so good as our own. But the Eggs were the perquisite of the farmer's wife-her pinmoney by a mutual understanding-while the corn went into the pocket of the farmer. The lady consequently permitted her pullets, without the least remonstrance, to make a large hole in a barley-stack, pull out the straws one by one, and, when they had tasted an ear, if they did not approve its flavour try another. Whether the man grumbled, and the wife pouted and carried her point, is not for us to tell, if we knew. It is certain that the price we were charged for the Eggs did not pay for the damage done by their production.

A paragraph from the Perth Courier ran the round of

the papers, and obtained considerable attention at the time (Dec. 1847) from inexperienced poultry-keepers "Hens will lay Eggs perpetually, if treated in the following manner. Keep no Roosters "-what an elegant word!" give the Hens fresh meat, chopped up like sausage meat, once a day, a very small portion, say half an ounce a day to each Hen during the winter, or from the time insects disappear in the fall, till they appear again in spring. Never allow any Eggs to remain in the nest for what is called Nest-eggs. When the Roosters do not run with the Hens, and no Nest-eggs are left in the nest, the Hens will not cease laying after the production of twelve or fifteen Eggs, as they always do when Roosters and Nest-eggs are allowed, but continue laying perpetually. My Hens lay all winter, and each from seventy to one hundred Eggs in succession. If the above plan were generally followed, Eggs would be just as plentiful in winter as in summer. The only reason why Hens do not lay in winter as freely as in summer, is the want of animal food, which they get in summer in the form of insects. I have for several winters reduced my theory to practice, and proved its entire correctness."

No allowance is here made for the different laying and incubating capabilities of different breeds of Fowls; and the Reader will be wise in hesitating before he consents to banish Cocks from his poultry-yard and Nest-eggs from his hen-house. The act of laying is not voluntary on the part of a Hen, but is dependent upon her age, constitution, and diet. If she be young, healthy, and well-fed, lay she must; if she be aged and half starved, lay she cannot. All that is left to her own choice is, where she shall deposit her Egg, and she is sometimes so completely taken by surprise, as not to have her own way even in that. The poultry-keeper, therefore, has only to decide which is the more convenient; that his Hens should lay here and there, as it may happen, about his premises, or in certain determinate places, indicated to the Hens by Nest-eggs. It is quite a mistake to suppose that the

presence of a Nest Egg causes a Hen to sit earlier than she otherwise would. The sight of twenty Nest Eggs will not bring on the hatching fever; and when it does come, the Hen will take to the empty nest, if there be nothing else for her to incubate. Any one whose Hens have from accident been deprived of a male companion, will agree with me in saying that they have not done so well till the loss has been supplied. During the interregnum matters get all wrong. There is nobody to stop their mutual bickerings, and inspire an emulation to please and be pleased. The poor deserted creatures wander about dispirited, like soldiers without a general. It belongs to their very nature to be controlled and marshalled by one of the stronger sex, who is a kind, though a strict master, and a considerate though stern disciplinarian. It does not appear what should make Hens lay better under such forlorn circumstances as are recommended in the Perth paragraph. They will sit just the same, when the fit seizes them, and so will Ducks; as may be seen amongst those cottagers who, to save the expense of barley, keep two or three Hens or Ducks only, and procure from a neighbour a sitting of Eggs, as they want them. It has been stated by Réaumur, who is a high authority, that clear or unfertile Eggs will keep good longer than those that would be productive; but it is doubtful whether the difference is so great as to make it worth while keeping the Hens in a melancholy widowhood on this account. The most natural and least troublesome way of having a winter supply of Eggs, is to procure pullets hatched early the previous spring, and to give them all they can eat of the best barley, or, if expense be disregarded, of the finest wheat. But all people are not so nice about their Eggs, particularly during a long sea voyage. For example, "It was upon one of the islands that I went on shore, and I found there such a number of birds, that when they rose they literally darkened the sky, and we could not walk a step without treading upon their Eggs. As they kept hovering over our heads at a little

M