THE OOLOOI8T 



75 



Murre eggs, recently bought in Brit- 

 ain, and I could not possibly exclude 

 a single one of them. Yet the series 

 probably represents not ten per cent 

 of the known variations ! ) 



Now since I increasingly hate all 

 waste, I am led to feel that the for- 

 mation, by a considerable number of 

 collectors of some such series as that 

 which I have formulated, would prob- 

 ably utilize a vast quantity of single 

 eggs now packed away, and useless. 

 Personally, I find myself in posses- 

 sion of several hundred specimens, 

 duplicates, and these, will you note, 

 not culls, but many of them of rare 

 beauty I want to pass them on (of 

 course, for a consideration). 



This series would utilize, not only 

 singles but broken or incomplete sets. 

 Those that have such sets could dis- 

 pose of them to great advantage; ac- 

 quiring, by means of them, singles or 

 complete sets, as might be desired. 



I am sure that Editor Barnes will 

 generously allow me, in the text of 

 this issue of The Oologist, to add a 

 trifle to the subject, matter of my ad- 

 vertisements, appearing in this num- 

 ber of our magazine: and this, be- 

 cause the matter to which I am re- 

 ferring seems to me vital to the whole 

 scheme: I would suggest that (save, 

 of course, for the rarest of eggs), one 

 secure, by exchange or purchase, eggs 

 in fairly large series, where possible. 

 Then, those that prove fairly dupli- 

 cate can be passed on; and gradual- 

 ly absorbed into other collections. 



I am tempted, right here, to pass on 

 a' suggestion of a series of thrills that 

 passed over me recently in the un- 

 packing of my cases of singles When, 

 some years ago, near the point of 

 death, I sold my collection as a whole, 

 at a ridiculous percentage of its in- 

 trinsic value; a percentage, however, 

 justifiable, under all the existing cir- 

 cumstances. But, just think of selling 

 an authentic egg of the Passenger 



Pigeon for sixty cents! I let it all 

 go — in perfect good faith — and what 

 a task for the purchaser in pottering 

 over hundreds of mended eggs, and 

 rejecting, of course, all the involved 

 imperfect sets! Yet, by some strange 

 accident, a few of the choicest things 

 I ever owned had strayed into my 

 boxes of "Maynard" eggs. There 

 were two sets of Flamingo, with 

 datas in Mr. Maynard's own hand- 

 writing; rarely beautiful sets of 

 tropic bird; six sets of Pallas Murre, 

 and singles of Sooty Albatross, Hood- 

 ed Merganser, Wood Duck, Snow 

 Goose, Great White Heron, Limpkin, 

 Woodcock, Mountain Plover, Duck 

 Hawk, Paraque, Red-spotted Blue 

 throat. Ivory-billed Woodpecker, and 

 many others. Not a few eggs of rather 

 common species were found to be of 

 rarest beauty. An incomplete set of 

 House Finch were belted, each, close 

 to the smaller end with a blue band. 

 (This same "embellishment" was 

 found on a number of other eggs, in- 

 cluding one egg of the Orchard 

 Oriole). 



Many eggs of the Redwing, of sun- 

 dry races, were of the purplish type, 

 and these, in most instances, were 

 wonderfully hieroglyphed, over the 

 entire surface. But the most mar- 

 velous Red-wing eggs, three out of a 

 set of four, were of a dull clay ground 

 color, and were unmarked, for the 

 lower half. Above this, two of the 

 eggs were obscurely marked with 

 olivaceous-umber, which capped each 

 egg; interblended with which was a 

 wreath of short, irregular lines. The 

 third egg is one of the most marvel- 

 lously beautiful eggs I have ever seen- 

 The upper third is air-brushed with 

 the rich, olivaceous-umber, while the 

 cap-wreath is of wonderful design and 

 of delicate color. (I have an egg of 

 the Meadow Pipit that is stippled in 

 the same way). 



Perhaps the most wonderful of all 



