12 WITH THE U. S. NATURALISTS 



pffdia had been there, and especially if he had been 

 compelled to read the set throughout, the lad might 

 not have discovered any special interest in it, but, 

 rather, might have developed a distaste for 

 ornithology. As it was, however, the volume in 

 his possession only covered the letters DRA to 

 GYR and the information that it gave was re- 

 sultantly tantalizing. It was, undoubtedly, be- 

 cause this particular volume contained a long 

 article on "Ducks" that Bull had found it in the 

 duck-blind. 



Shan, therefore, was well informed on the ques- 

 tion of ' ' Ducks. ' ' Naturally, also, he knew a great 

 deal about "Goose," but hardly anything about 

 ' ' Swan. ' ' The ' ' Eagle ' ' was in the Encyclopaedia 

 and also in Shan's knowledge, but not the "Hawk" 

 nor the ' ' Crow. ' ' The ' ' Finch ' ' was an old friend, 

 but not the "Blackbird" or the "Thrush." 



The chief feature of this particular volume, how- 

 ever, came under the heading "Eggs." There 

 was a colored plate illustrating a score or so of 

 birds' eggs, showing differences in sizes from the 

 huge egg of the ostrich to the tiny sphere of the 

 humming-bird ; in shapes between the round egg of 

 the Owl and the conical egg of the Plover ; and in 

 coloring, from the white egg of the Woodpecker 



