January, 1892.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



Set XXI. June 2, 1891. Chester County, 

 Penn. Collected by J. P. Norris, Jr. Nest at 

 foot of small bush in woods. Very bulky, and 

 made of leaves, etc., lined with rootlets and 

 horse-hair. Four eggs, fresh. White, deli- 

 cately wreathed with hazel and lilac-gray 

 specks: .6Sx.50; .()lx.57; .68x.58; .70x.58. 



Set XXII. June 1, 1891. Chester County, 

 Penn. Collected by J. P. Xorris, Jr. Nest at 

 foot of small bush, four feet from a path in the 

 woods. Made of leaves, etc., lined with fine 

 black rootlets. 9 flushed. Five eggs, fresh. 

 White, sjieckled, more heavily at the larger 

 ends, with chestnut and lilac gray: .72x..^5; 

 .73x.,5G; .78 x. 5"); .72x.55; .7ox..56. 



Set XXIII. June 2, 1891. Chester County, 

 Penn. Collected by J. P. Xorris, Jr. Nest at 

 foot of small bush in woods. Made of leaves, 

 weed stalks, etc., lined with horse-hair and fine 

 rootlets. Five eggs, fresh. Glossy white, 

 heavily speckled and spotted with fawn color, 

 hazel, and lilac -gray: .76x.r)5; .71 x. 5.5; 

 .71X.55; .72X.53; .72x.5(5. 



Set XXIY. June 12, 1891. Chester County, 

 Penn. Collected by J. P. NoiTis, Jr. Nest very 

 small. Made of leaves, etc., lined with rootlets 

 and horse-hair. At foot of small bush on bank 

 two feet above a path in woods. 9 flushed. 

 This is the second set laid by the same birds 

 that laid Set XVII, taken May 27, 1891. Five 

 eggs, fresh. White, heavily speckled, princi- 

 pally at the larger ends, with chestnut and 

 lilac-gray: .73x.57; .72x.55; .78 x.5(); .70x.57; 

 .5(ix.54. 



Set XXV. June 25, 1891. Chester County, 

 Penn. Collected by J. P. Norris, Ji-. Nest at 

 foot of a small bush in swampy woods. Made 

 of leaves, etc., lined with fine black rootlets. 

 9 flushed. Four eggs, fresh. White, deli 

 cately speckled with chestnut and lilac-gray: 

 .75X.58; .73X.57; .77x..59; .74x.57. 



J. P. .V. 



How I Prepare Eggs. 



In my earlier collecting days I lost many a 

 valuable egg, especially those containing em- 

 bryos, by not knowing how to safely extract 

 the contents, and trusting my experience may 

 benefit others and perhaps interest them, in- 

 somuch that they will give of their own ex- 

 perience, I venture to tell the readers of the 

 O. & O. my methods. 



My working outfit consists of the best drills 

 that I can procure (and I know of none that 

 can compare with those that friend Webster 



sells), a solid nickel blow-pipe, also one of 

 glass with a rubber nipple on the mouth end, 

 embryo scissors and hooks, a bottle of strong 

 solution of caustic potash, which I prepare by 

 filling my bottle one-half full of water and 

 tlien dissolving in it all the caustic that it will 

 take, (the caustic can be procured at any 

 drug store), a small box of dust shot, a sheet 

 of blotting paper, a soft cloth and soft lead 

 pencil, a data pad, also a glass of clean water 

 and a dish of any description to hold the con- 

 tents of the eggs. The latter should be par- 

 tially filled with water to prevent accidents, 

 from dropping the egg. Now I am ready for 

 work. 



If the eggs are fresh there is no difficulty in 

 blowing them. I will take for illustration a 

 nest of Oriole's eggs. I first examine each egg- 

 to see upon which side the markings are most 

 prominent or most handsomely grouped, and 

 on the opposite side I drill as neat a hole as 

 possible. I do not advocate drilling the small- 

 est hole that it is possible to extract the con- 

 tents through, neither do I admire eggs from 

 which a quarter or a third has been drilled 

 away. I think tliat the hole should be in pro- 

 portion to the size of the egg, but be the hole 

 large or small let it be neat and without 

 chipped edges. A rare egg with a large hole, 

 if it be perfect, makes a desirable cabinet 

 specimen. 



After blowing my eggs I thoroughly rinse 

 them out with fresh water and wipe them 

 carefully with a damp corner of my cloth, 

 taking care that I do not destroy any of the 

 markings, which is easily done with many 

 eggs. I now set them, holes down, on the blot- 

 iiig paper to dry, after which I put on them 

 the set marks; and here is a point I wish to 

 emphasize: do not sprawl the figures over half 

 the egg as I have known many to do, but make 

 them small, neat and above all legible, and 

 place them close to the blow hole. 



A.11 that remains to be done now is to make 

 out the data which should be as full as possible, 

 and the eggs are ready for the cabinet. 



Should the embryo be partially formed but 

 soft, it can be blown out by using care, but 

 often leaves a thick skin attached to the shell 

 that is difficult to remove, and here is where 

 the shot comes in play. Place a few grains in 

 the egg and fill it with water, then gently 

 shake it in different directions for a moment, 

 when using your blow-pipe you will find that 

 everything will come out. The shot can safely 

 be used in Warbler's eggs and I have found it 

 a great help 



