HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



75 



62. Gkeat Sedge-wabbler {Si/lvia turtoides, 

 Meyer). 



C2. Received of , from the cabinet of Mr. . 



«62. Taken by , a servant of , on the 



banks of the river Tongrep, near Valken- 

 swaard, in the south of Holland, on the 

 9th June, 1855. The birds may be heard 

 a long way off by their incessant " Kara, 



cut out a number of little tickets suitable to the 

 size of the hole in the eg^, moisten one of these, 

 and place it with the gum side downwards over the 

 hole, so as to quite cover it ; cover the ticket with a 

 coat of varnish, which will render it air-tight and 

 prevent its being affected by moisture. The egg 

 thus treated will bave all the appearance of a per- 

 fect specimen, and if kept from the light will suffer 

 very little from fading. 



The note-book has been mentioned : this should 

 be a constant companion ; nothing should be left to 

 memory. When an egg is taken, a temporary pencil 

 number should at once be placed upon it, and this 

 number should correspond with the number attached 

 to an entry in the note-book, describing the nest (if 

 not removed), its situation, number of eggs, day of 

 month, and any other particular of interest. When 

 the egg is ready for the cabinet, as much of this 

 information (certainly, name, date, and locality) 

 should be indelibly marked upon it, as conveniently 

 as can be done (neatly, of course, and on the under 

 side) ; also the number referring to the collector's 

 general list of his collection, into which the im- 

 portant parts of the entry from the note-book 

 should be copied. Never trust to gummed labels, 

 which are always liable to come off : by writing the 

 necessary particulars upon the Q^g itself there can 

 be no confusion or mistake. Most collectors have 

 their own plan of cataloguing their collection. I 

 have adopted the following, which I find to answer 

 very well. Obtain a blank paper book, the size of 

 common letter-paper, rule a horizontal line across 

 the centre of each page, and make a complete list 

 of British birds, placing only two names on ea«h 

 page, one at the head of each division, pretixiug a 

 progressive number to each name : this number is 

 to agree with that marked on the egg of the species 

 named. Then follow the locality whence the egg 

 came, by whom taken (if not by myself), or" how it 

 came into my possession, with any other particular 

 worthy of note. With all eggs received in exchange 

 or otherwise, this note should, if possible, be ob- 

 tained in the handwriting of the person from whom 

 they are received, and the slip on which it is written 

 be affixed in the book under the number. When 

 specimens of the eggs of the same species are 

 obtained from various localities, those from each 

 locality should be distinguished by a letter prefixed 

 to the number. The plan will be better understood 

 by referring to the following extract :— 



Kara, Kara." A few years ago not one 

 was to be found near Valkenswaard. 



A. B 



^62. Bought at Antwerp in August, 1865. 



118. Mealy Red-pole {Fringilla borealis. Tew.). 



118. Nyborg, at the head of Mask Fjord (one 

 of the two branches into which Waran- 

 gar Fjord divides). East Finmark, Nor- 

 way, July, 1S55. The birds were very 

 plentiful, and only one species seen, which 

 appears quite identical with that which 

 visits England every winter. 



C. D. E 



By means of these entries, and the corresponding 

 number on the egg, mistakes are impossible, and 

 the name and history of each egg would be quite as 

 well known to a stranger as to the possessor. It 

 needs not to be said that this catalogue is replete 

 with the deepest interest to its compiler. In it he 

 sees the record of many a holiday trip and many a 

 successful find. Some of its entries,— for the earliest 

 date back five-and-tvpenty years, are memorials 

 of companions long since dead, or separated 

 by rolling oceans, but on whose early friendship 

 it is a pleasure to dwell. 



Nothing can be more vexatious and disappointing 

 than the receipt of a box Of Valuable eggs in a 

 smashed or injured condition from want of care or 

 knowledge of the proper method of packing. A 

 simple method is recommended by Professor 

 Nevpton, which, from experience, 1 can confidently 

 recommend : — Roll each egg in tow,.wool, or some 

 elastic material, and paisk them closely m a stout 

 box, leaving no vacant space for them to sliake ; or 

 a layer of soft material may be placed at the bottom 

 of the box, and upon it a layer of eggs, each one 

 wrapped loosely in old newspape*"; upon this 

 another layer of wool or moss, theS again eggs, 

 and packing alternately until the box is quite full. 

 Bran, sawdust, c%c., should never te used ; and it 

 should be ascertained that the box is quite filled, 

 so that no shaking or settlement cm. occur. 



Almost every collector has his own plan for con. 

 structing his cabinet, an<i displaying his collection • 

 The beginner, if left to himself, will find it a matter 

 of no small difficulty, and many will be the changes 

 before he arrives at one at all satisfactory. Mr. 

 Osbert Salvin has invented a plan which I think as 

 near perfection as it is possible to arrive at, and 

 through his kindness I am enabled to give a brief 

 description of it. In the first place his cabinets 

 are so constructed that the drawers, of different 

 depths, are interchangeable. This is effected by 

 placing the runners, which carry the drawers, at a 

 fixed distance from each other, and making the 

 depth of each drawer a multiple of the distance 



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