INTRODUCTION. 7 



having taken from the box most of the cotton wool, leave a 

 layer on the bottom, in which make a slight depression with 

 the finger, and place the first egg. The following rules should 

 be observed : (1) An egg must not come in contact with an- 

 other, with the bottom, sides, or cover of the box. (2) The 

 cotton wool must be tightly packed. To pack it loosely is a 

 mistake frequently made, and attended by consequent acci- 

 dents. (With 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 away, the box 

 should be put in the pocket in such a way that they 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 any small branches to w^hich 

 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, constantly sup- 

 plied with benzine or crystallized camphor, to prevent the 

 ravages of moths. 



Eggs, to be sent by 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 safely mailed to any distance in auger-holes bored in 

 wood." Boxes may be sent by 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 



contents are less easily removed. The for two or even three days. See § I 

 reverse is said to he the ease when eggs and note. 

 containing embryos are left unblown 



