THE OOLOGIST. 



211 



we kiKiW tliis is a rusldinaiy ])i;u-ticc 

 with many collectors and dealers, hut 

 it is lioth a waste of time and materia!, 

 and small eji'^'s are I'ar moi'i' liable to 

 l/ee(Hne Id'oken w lien nni)arked llian it" 

 wi'appt'd in tlie ordinar}' manner. 



Pasteboard i)artitions should never be 

 used unless the sendei' wislies lo be re- 

 warded wi1h a lot of l)roken efj-^-'s. Tiie 

 same caution mij^lit also bi' (;'i\('n to 

 collectors who are in the habit of 

 throwinjf in their eg's^'s loosel_\\ either in 

 layers (U' in- bulk. La rye sea !)ird eggs 

 can Ite packed in di'y moss, tow . oakum, 

 or similar material. 



Never use l)ran oi- sawtbist, it will 

 woi'k in the holes wlieic the eggs are 

 blown and will make them so solid 

 that they will jolt together and break. 

 Hundreds of \ aluable specimens have 

 b 'en broken every season through im- 

 ])roiier packing, fidly seventy-tive per 

 cMit. of tlu'se i)reakages could have 

 been avoideil if the ])ackers had only 

 iiseil a little more care and judgment. 



Frecpieutly sjteeimeus are broken l)y 

 rough usage and handling in the mails, 

 this of course is m» fault of tlie sliipj>er, 

 but if no agreement to the .contrary is 

 m;ul ■, it is an unwritten law,oi- we might 

 say understanding, that the shipper 

 guai'antees safe delixci'y and in case of 

 loss by breakagi^ the siiippei- shoidd 

 eitlier rejjlaee such speidmens giatis, or 

 have their \a!ue deducted from the 

 shij)ment, provided, however, that the 

 rccei\-er of the damaged sj)ecimens re- 

 turn the impcrfei't or broken ones 

 within three days after they have 

 iteeu recei\»'d. 



Useful hints, items, ami instuctions 

 are given in the Oologist from tinu' to 

 time, and any question of interest to 

 t!ie collector will be cheerfully answer- 

 ed through its columns. 



Numbering' Eggs. 



K\ery c(dlector shouhl mark or num- 

 Ijer his eggs and arrange them acet>rd- 



ing to either the A. (). U. Check List of 

 North America Birds, or according to 

 Ridgway's Nomeucdature. To young 

 collectors and l)egiun(-rs it is advisable 

 to use the former, as it is the list ar- 

 ranged and a<lo])ted by the American 

 Ornithologists' Union and has w • 

 trust c.KU ' t » st^iy. B it a-; tht-re arc 

 many lai-ge collections numbered and 

 arranged according to Bidgway's and 

 by far the bulk of the I'ggs in this 

 country bear the RidgAvay numbers, 

 it will be some time b(d"ore our older 

 collectors will nuike the eh auge and 

 give up the No's that are now as famil- 

 iar to them as their A. B. ("s, but the 

 change must come and we woidd ad- 

 vise collectors to mark all specimens 

 during the coming season, with the 

 A. O. U., No's. 



As it is supposed that you will Use, 

 l)eginning with 1890 at any late, tlie 

 A. O. U., No's, you should nuirk the 

 s]iecimen with the ninidjcr given it in 

 that list, with a soft lead pencil, never 

 ink, making the figures small, neat, 

 and ])lai)i and placing them on the un- 

 der side of the egg, near the hole fi'om 

 whicdi tlie contents weie em])ticd. 

 Unnatural stains oi- marks, othei- than 

 the No. and set-maik, should ne\ er be 

 made on an egg and natural ones 

 should nexcr be removed. 



Disposal of Duplicate Specimens. 



Collectors usually dispos ■ of their 

 duplicate specimens by exchange with 

 other collectors or with dealers. In 

 both cases some standard list is atlojjt- 

 ed as a medium or Itasis of exchange, 

 and exchanges with the fornu'r aif 

 made at even rates and reckoned at 

 the prices given in the list adopted. 

 It frequently hapi>ens that a collector 

 obtains some very desirable duplicates 

 lit species not easily oljtalnable and 

 some other col!ecl<ir may l)c glad to 

 allow him more than list ]>rices for 

 them, Ijut as prici' lists of leading 



