8 • INTRODUCTION'. 



mistake frequentl}^ made, and attended by consequent acci- 

 dents. (^Yith larger eggs less care is required, and those of 

 hawks or owls may often be carried safely in a handkerchief.) 

 When all the eggs have been safely stowed awa}^, the box 

 should be put in the pocket in such a way that the}'^ shall not 

 be violently jarred, when a fence is clambered over, or the 

 body otherwise ungently moved. A small nest, if either rare 

 or curious, should be taken with au}' small branches, to which 

 it may be attached, and brought home in a suitable box or 

 basket, and not squeezed in the hand or pocket ; a bulky one 

 may be safely carried in the hands. A nest on the ground 

 must be taken up with peculiar care, as it may otherwise fall 

 apart, and should afterwards, if necessary, be stitched to- 

 gether. Nests, to be properly preserved, must be placed in 

 some receptacle, where they will be free from dust, and, if 

 composed of woolly materials or of feathers, constantl}- sup- 

 plied with benzine or cr^'stallized camphor, to prevent the 

 ravages of moths. 



Eggs, to be sent b}'^ mail or express, should not be packed 

 so tightly as for ordinary transportation, and may be first sur- 

 rounded by tissue-paper. "• Single eggs," says Dr. Coues, 

 " may be safel}- mailed to any distance in auger-holes bored in 

 "wood." Boxes may be sent b}' mail at a trifling cost, when 

 not sealed. Tin boxes, such as are used for tobacco,, with 

 tightly fitting covers, are the best. 



§ I. On reaching home, the eggs must not be left in places 

 where they are likely to be broken or lost, but at once blown 

 and placed in your cabinet. The following are directions for 

 blowing an egg in the old-fashioned way, which possesses two 

 or three advantages over the modern process (among others, 



