Oological Journey to Russia. 151 



found Mr. Hackman at his country-seat of Hertuala, a lovely 

 place on the shore of the Saima Lake, where I lived when I 

 first visited Finland as a lad in 1856. I intended to stay 

 there at least a week, but on the following day I received a 

 telegram from Dr. Bianchi asking me to come to St. Peters- 

 burg as soon as possible, as he was starting almost at once 

 for a trip in the country, so I arranged to leave by the night- 

 train on the 1st of June. At Hertuala I visited several 

 of the places 1 formerly knew so well, when I spent the 

 whole of the summer there in 1856 and collected birds and 

 eggs. The old tree in which I then found the Great Black 

 Woodpecker breeding was still standing, with several more 

 holes in it, but I did not see the birds. The gardener, 

 however, told me that they were there in the previous year, 

 but that he had not observed them since. Oriolus galbula 

 still frequents the gardens, as do many other birds I used 

 to see when formerly in the district. On my arrival at 

 St. Petersburg I went at once to the Museum, where I found 

 Dr. Bianchi, who was most friendly, and afforded me every 

 facility. He had looked out all the eggs obtained on the 

 Taimyr Peninsula and the New Siberian Islands, so that 

 I could examine them at my ease, and among them I 

 was able, for the first time, to examine authentic eggs of 

 the Knot {Tringa canutm), obtained by the late Dr. Walter. 

 Dr. Walter's assistant was in St. Petersburg at the time, so 

 Dr. Bianchi sent for him in order that I might learn further 

 particulars from his own lips. I ascertained from him that 

 only one clutch of three eggs of Tringa canutus, No. 70 

 (cf. Ibis, 1904, p. 233), obtained by Dr. Walter, was 

 thoroughly authenticated, by the parent bird being shot on 

 leaving the nest. These specimens agreed well with the de- 

 scription which I translated and gave in ' The Ibis/ as above 

 quoted. Of the eggs of Calidris arenaria there were several 

 clutches not shewing any great variation, besides several of 

 Tringa subarquata obtained by Dr. Walter, all resembling 

 those found by Mr. H. L. Popham and figured by Prof. 

 Newton (P. Z. S. 1897, pi. li. figs. 1-4). Amongst them 

 were several beautiful varieties. 



