KINDNESS AND SYMPATHIES 263 



'■^ March 22rd, 1892. 

 " I was with Edward Verreaux (egg dealer) in Paris 

 when there arrived a large consignment of skins and 

 eggs from South Russia. I was asked to assist at the 

 unpacking of the two cases. There was no list or invoice 

 of any kind. The first box contained perhaps two 

 hundred eggs, or I should say perhaps fifty or sixty 

 species beautifully packed, and with the names of the 

 species in Russian, written on each egg ; no date, no 

 locality. A big note-book was produced, and the two 

 brothers proceeded to separate and name the eggs in the 

 book, as it seemed to me, purely as fancy dictated. I 

 was consulted now and then, and prevented some eggs 

 of little bustard being put down to a gull {Larus 

 melanocephalus), but I held my tongue, except when 

 questioned, and a lot of eggs of redshank were named 

 and priced in the book as a rare plover's. Some eggs 

 of a crane {Grus virgo) did duty for those of an eagle 

 (Jquiia imperialis) ; eggs of H. nigra, the black tern, 

 and probably H. leucopterus, were lumped into those of 

 a pratincole, and all labelled as belonging to this last 

 species. Four white eggs that I have no doubt were laid 

 by the eagle owl {Bubo maximus) went down in the list 

 as those of the black stork (Ciconia nigra), and so on 

 ad infiiiitum* The naive way in which the brothers 

 confessed their entire ignorance, and shot at probabilities, 



* This is further supported l)y Mr. Dresser out of his own 

 experience. 



