For it is certain that the chick is formed by a principle inherent in the egg, and that nothing accrues to a perfect egg from incubation, beyond the warmth and protection; in the same way as to the chick when disclosed, the hen gives nothing more than her warmth and her care, by which she defends it from the cold and from injury, and directs it to its proper food. The grand desideratum, therefore, once the chickens are hatched, is that the hen lead them about, seek for and supply them with proper food, and cherish them under her wings. And this you will not easily supply by any kind of artifice. Capons, and hybrids between the common fowl and the pheasant, produced in our aviaries, will incubate and hatch a set of eggs; but they never know how to take care of the brood--to lead them about properly, and to provide with adequate care for their nurture. And here I would pause for a moment, (for I mean to treat of the matter more fully by and by,) to express my admiration of the perseverance and patience with which the females of almost every species of bird, sit upon the nest for so many days and nights incessantly, macerating their bodies, and almost destroying themselves from want of food; what dangers they will face in defence of their eggs, and when compelled to quit them for ever so short a time, through necessity, with what eagerness and haste they return to them again, and brood over them! Ducks and geese, when they quit the nest for a few minutes, cover and conceal it with straw. With what true magnanimity do these ill-furnished mothers defend their eggs! which, after all, perhaps, are mere wind or addle eggs, or not their own, or artificial eggs of chalk or ivory;--it is still the same, they defend all with equal courage. It is truly a remarkable love which birds display for inert and lifeless eggs; and their solicitude is repaid by no kind of advantage or enjoyment. Who does not wonder at the affection, or passion rather, of the clucking hen, which can only be extinguished by a drenching with cold water. In this state of her feeling she neglects everything,--her wings droop, her feathers are unpruned and ruffled, she wanders about restless and dissatisfied, disturbing other hens on their nests, seeking eggs everywhere, which she commences forthwith to incubate; nor will she be at peace until her desire has been gratified, until she has a brood to lead about with her, upon which she may expend her fervour, which she may cherish, feed, and defend. How pleasantly are we moved to laughter when we see the poor hen following to the water the supposititious brood of ducklings she has hatched, wandering restlessly round the pool, attempting to wade after them to her own imminent peril, and by her noises and various artifices striving to entice them back to the shore!