1896-97-] The Great Auk. 243 



same time she gave her two emu eggs. These got broken by 

 accident, the Great Auk's egg escaping destruction, although 

 it was broken when she got it. 



" Miss Betty Stone Way was an old friend of Miss Eliza 

 Hill, and, seven years before she died, said one day, ' I would 

 like Eliza to give you something that belonged to James — he 

 was fond of you. Go and fetch the three eggs, and I will 

 give them to you, — he thought them valuable, or prized 

 them.' " 



It is evident that the Way family at the beginning of this 

 century had connections with Newfoundland, for Mr Joseph 

 Way, a brother of old James Way, states in his will that he 

 made it prior to taking a voyage to Newfoundland. 



The late Mr Philip Hill was a farmer at Pimperne, near 

 Blandford. The Eev. Mr Walker, Curate of Pimperne (now 

 Eector of Spettisbury), saw the egg in Mr Hill's drawing-room 

 at Pimperne. He asked Mr Hill's son if it was a real egg. 

 The boy went and asked his mother if it was real. The Eev. 

 Mr Walker then told them that it was worth £100 — that 

 imitations were made and put up in drawing - rooms. Mr 

 Hill going up to London shortly afterwards, took it to the 

 Natural History Department of the British Museum, Ken- 

 sington. He saw Dr E. Bowdler Sharpe, who informed him 

 that it was a real egg, and wished that he could afford to buy 

 it. Mr Hill left the egg, telling him to do the best he could 

 with it. Next morning Mr Hill got a cheque for £50 from 

 Lord Lilford. 



The name of the Great Auk is evidently one to conjure 

 with, if we may judge by an announcement which appeared 

 in 'The Naturalists' Gazette,' February 1891, a trade journal 

 printed in Birmingham. It is headed " An Oological Ex- 

 pedition to the Land of the Great Auk." The prospectus 

 goes on to explain a scheme for obtaining subscriptions to be 

 used for sending a trained oologist to the Shetland Islands, 

 which are described as an oologist's paradise. It says, " If 

 the season is a pretty fair one, a haul of at least 20,000 eggs 

 (including many rare varieties) may be expected." Fortu- 

 nately this plundering expedition was prevented by the efforts 

 of Mr J. A. Harvie Brown and others. 



During the last ten years comparatively little has been 



