136 



THE OOLOGIST 



taken this year. Any subsequent sets 

 should be indicated by the letters b, e, 

 d, etc. The figure 5 beneath this line 

 will indicate the number of eggs in the 

 set. If the set had been 4, 6 or 7 the 

 numbers 4, 6 or 7, according to the 

 number of eggs in the set would be 

 placed beneath this line. And be- 

 neath the blow hole should be placed 

 numbers designating the year in which 

 the set was taken, as 1910, 1911, or 

 1912, or whatever the year might be. 

 Each egg in the set should be marked 

 in exactly the same way. 



In this way it is easy to keep track 

 of the specimens. The A.O.U. number 

 will at once identify the specimen, the 

 set number "a-S" will show that it is 

 the first set taken and that there were 

 five eggs in it. The year number be- 

 neath the blow hole will show the year 

 in which it was taken, and reference 

 to the data or the original note book 

 would disclose these same figures. 



Having marked all of the eggs 

 taken according to the above method, 

 the next important thing is to place 

 them in a dark cabinet of some kind 

 with closely fitting drawers that win 

 exclude both the dust and light. The 

 light will cause many specimens to 

 fade; in fact, nearly all. Dust if it set- 

 tles upon the egg and and the atmos- 

 phere then gets damp, will set up a 

 peculiar character of fungus growth 

 on the shell that will ultimately dis- 

 figure the eggs for all time; particu- 

 larly those having solid color, like the 

 Bluebird, Catbird, Wood Thrush and 

 the like. 



Of course it follows that the larger 

 the egg the easier it is to blow. Like- 

 wise the larger the egg, the same rules 

 apply to prepare it with as small a 

 drill hole as possible. 



Many times it will be found that the 

 specimens taken are more or less in- 

 cubated, though it is a bad practice 

 to take incubated eggs unless the> 



are specimens of unusual varieties. In 

 that case of course the taking is en- 

 tirely justified. The blowing of a 

 badly incubated specimen is a mat- 

 ter of tedious, hard work. Frequently 

 you will have to use an embryo hook 

 as well as a pair of very fine, sharj) 

 pointed embryo scissors and cut the 

 embryo within the egg through the 

 oriface made by the drill with the 

 scissors and drag it out, piece at a 

 time with the embryo hook, or force 

 small pieces of it out by inserting the 

 point of the blow pipe entirely within 

 the shell of the egg. To do this neat- 

 ly and softly will require a larger 

 hole in the shell and much patience 

 and care. 



It is never very satisfying to at- 

 tempt to use caustic potash or any 

 similar substance for the dissolving 

 of the contents of an incubated speci- 

 men, as is sometimes recommended, 

 for the reason that ultimately the shell 

 of the egg so treated will disintegrate 

 entirely and the strong alkaline ac- 

 tion will injure the tint and colors or. 

 the shell. 



After a little practice it is not hard 

 to become proficient in the prepara- 

 tion of specimens of this kind, and you 

 will discover that your standing and 

 rank as an oologist will depend very 

 largely upon the character of your 

 work in |)reparing your specimens. 

 Accuracy, neatness and cleanliness 

 above all things should be your motto. 



From Georgia. 



As I have noticed THE OOLOGIST 

 never has, since I have been a sub- 

 scriber, contained any notes from 

 Georgia, I have decided to try to write 

 a little about the birds which I have 

 identified here near my home, com- 

 mencing under date of April 10, 1914 

 and up to date of May 9, 1914. 



1. Broad winged Hawk, 3. 



2. Common Crows, 50. 



