A real nest egg
Country Life UK|March 27, 2024
Despite their apparent delicacy, some eggs –when placed on end–can withstand the weight of a human, says John Lewis-Stempel, as he marvels at one of Nature’s smallest, yet mightiest miracles
John Lewis-Stempel
A real nest egg

ARE not bird’s eggs perfect things? Inside the cover of eggshell, which is a cold mineral, the embryo of a warm-blooded bird grows in a supportive substance, yolk, until it achieves its own release. We consider eggshell thin— as in the saying about trepidation, ‘walking on eggshells’—but a hen’s egg placed on its end can withstand the weight of a human. Eggshell, which is Photographs by Step largely composed of Nature’s ceramic, calcium carbonate, only looks solid; the surface is pitted by micro- scopic pores, which allow the exchange of gases, crucially oxygen, so that the growing bird within can breathe. Eggshell is not stuff: it is a mechanism.

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Country Life UK

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Country Life UK

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Country Life UK

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Country Life UK

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Country Life UK

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Country Life UK

Plants for plants' sake

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Country Life UK

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Nature's own cathedral
Country Life UK

Nature's own cathedral

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All that money could buy
Country Life UK

All that money could buy

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Country Life UK

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