COLLECTING BIRDS' EGGS AND NESTS. 95 



In collecting- and preserving egg's, the most difficult feature 

 of all is to remove the embryos successfully. In the days when 

 I diligently collected eggs in many lands, it seemed to me that 

 out of every dozen eggs I gathered, about thirteen contained 

 from one to two embryos each ! But there are ways in which 

 this difficulty can be successfully overcome. 



The full set of eggs laid by a bird for one brood is called 

 a "clutch," and in collecting it is of scientific importance 

 that whole sets should be collected and always kept sepa- 

 rate, and the number of eggs in each set taken should be re- 

 corded. 



Eggs are always blown through a small, round hole in the 

 middle of one side, preferably in each instance on the poorest 

 side of the egg, if it has one. Of course, the smaller the egg, 

 the smaller the drill must be, and the greater the care in hand- 

 ling. It is often a good plan to pierce the shell with a needle 

 in order to furnish the drill a point of attack. If an egg is 

 cracked, or happens to be of such value that it must be saved 

 at all hazards, reinforce it by pasting narrow strips of gold- 

 beater's skin or court-plaster across the line of fracture. 



Having drilled the hole, insert the end of a small wire, having 

 a small portion of the end bent at a right angle, and if the 

 embryo has not begim to develop, or happens to be quite small 

 and soft, twirl the wire rapidly between your thumb and finger, 

 to thoroughly break up the contents of the egg. Having ac- 

 complished this, insert the tip of your blow-pipe (the best in 

 the world consists of a tube of glass bent at a right angle and 

 terminating in a fine point, with the large end set in the end of 

 a rubber bulb, which saves the mouth and lungs all trouble) and 

 with gentle and gradual pressure blow in air. Hold the egg 

 with the hole downward, of course, so that the contents will run 

 out freely. Go slowly and carefully, even coaxingly, for too 

 great pressure will burst any ordinary egg in two parts very 

 neatly. If the embryo is small and disposed to be accommodat- 

 ing, help it out by inserting the point of your smallest scissors, 

 snipping it to pieces, and then drawing out the parts, one by 

 one, with your smallest forceps. 



Having emptied the egg of its contents, introduce some clear 

 water by way of the blow-pipe, wash out the inside thoroughly, 



