The Cuckoo's Trick
A great observer of country things has had under close observation this spring fourteen nests in which cuckoos have laid eggs. Four of them were laid in the nest of the dtmnock and as the bird is rather scarce in the neighbourhood the victimization has been prevented and the cuckoos' eggs trans- ferred to the nests of the titlark, a much commoner bird. It remains to be seen whether the synchronization will be as perfect as in the cuckoo's scheme. She almost lays at the -right moment. The controversy over the method of depositing the egg in the nest still rages so hotly that it is positively dangerous to take sides or even to suggest that there may be truth in both views. Personally, I have seldom been so -roundly abused as for making this tolerant suggestion. Both belligerents were offended.
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