50 



THE OOLOGIST 



and identifying inscription. It may 

 be quite unethical to remove sucli 

 foreign colors and matter, as mud 

 coatings, lice markings, nest filth, etc., 

 as may entirely conceal the eggs true 

 ground color and markings — even so — 

 there are times, when the ability to 

 discern just what nature originally 

 intended is very gratifying. After an 

 egg has fulfilled all the demands of 

 science there still remains something 

 more, at least in those eggs that have 

 pigment markings, for surely there is 

 no phase of nature which offers more 

 schemes or suggestions of wonderful 

 and varied color combinations. Well 

 might we apply many of these com- 

 binations to our every day life, sup- 

 planting much of the hideous, man- 

 conceived color discord. 



Higgin's Water-proof India ink and 

 a crow quill pen offers a good medium 

 for small, compact and distinct iden- 

 tifying inscription. A pencil is apt to 

 rub and become dim, and many of the 

 common writing inks will eventually 

 fade, indelible pencils and inks indeli- 

 bly deface an egg should they ever 

 be subjected to moisture. 



In our earlier collecting we found 

 that the greatest percentage of loss 

 resulted^ from the multi-handling of 

 specimens before they were blown- 

 due to bunglesome equipment and lack 

 of system in quick transmission to the 

 cabinets; and much effort has been di- 

 directed in minimizing this percent- 

 age. Specially commendable is any 

 short method in the field as it leaves 

 more time for observations, notes, 

 photos, rest, or more collecting. 



A, Owen and Antwonet Treganza. 



Preparation of Oological Specimens. 

 I suppose that at some time or 

 other, every collector has had the 

 thought come to him, that it would be 

 fine if the drill hole could be elim- 

 inated entirely. Thinking along these 



lines I began to experiment with the 

 result that I found two methods to 

 come close to the desired object. The 

 first of these consists in using a very 

 thin mixture of No. 1 moulding plas- 

 ter, and injecting it into the inside of 

 the shell with the aid of a long necked 

 medicine dropper, first wetting the in- 

 side of the shell by squirting it full 

 of water and emptying it again. After 

 putting in the plaster mixture lay the 

 shell with the hole down on a piece of 

 glass, and in a few minutes time you 

 will have a whole shell again, which 

 only needs a touch of color to make it 

 absolutely perfect. This method will 

 be found of use where you wish to get 

 rid of large holes in badly incubated 

 eggs, and also to repair broken shells, 

 (from the inside). 



The second method is one that must 

 appeal to all students who care for 

 neatness in the scientific preparations 

 of their specimens, and as it is just 

 as simple as the everyday way, there 

 should be no excuse for not using it. 

 It consists simply in the hiding of the 

 hole with the A. O. U. number. Take 

 for instance the common Phoebe, (A. 

 O. U. No. 456), drill as small a hole 

 as possible; when ready to mark, 

 place the figure "4" in front of the 

 hole, start your "5" just above the 

 hole and end it by making the lower 

 loop of it encircle the hole as far as it 

 goes; then put the "6" behind it, and 

 you will find that the hole is practi- 

 cally invisible. As another example 

 try a Summer Tanager's egg; in this 

 case you have numbers "6, 1, 0." The 

 figure "6" will go in first; the "1" in 

 the middle ;and the "0" will encircle 

 the drill hole. 



You will find that almost all the 

 numbers will lend themselves to this 

 system of marking, and the greatly 

 improved appearance of the shell will 

 more than pay you for your trouble, 

 and prove a credit to you no matter 

 which side happens to be up. 



