
— oe a er 
[7] COLLECTING BIRDS’ EGGS AND NESTS—BENDIRE, 
This is positively necessary to insure good clean specimens. I found 
an old flat piece of sponge, say about 2 inches thick by from 4 to 6 
inches wide and long, placed in a tin basin partly filled with water to 
soften and saturate it, very handy during the operation of blowing eggs. 
The sponge forms a convenient and elasti¢ cushion for the eggs to rest 
on, while I injected with water to rinse the inside thoroughly, and 
should one drop out of the egg-holder the chance of breakage is small. 
The coarse kind of bathing sponge is best, lasts for years, and can 
easily be kept clean and sweet. 
For packing unbiown eggs while out in the field I find small boxes 
(cigar boxes will answer the purpose very well), fitted with different 
sized subdivisions, very convenient. Mach of these small partitions may 
be lined with open cylinders made of blanket or heavy cloth. They may 
be from 2 to 4 inches long, according to the depth of the box, and from 
1 to 2 inches in diameter, according to the sizes of the eggs one may ex- 
pect to find. The bottom of the box should be extra well lined with 
either sheet cotton, cloth, or blanket cut the required size to fit this 
closely all around, on which the frame forming the subdivisions is then 
placed. A piece of heavy cloth or blanket, cut to fit, is placed on the 
open top of the box, or it may be glued tothe lid. The sides of the differ- 
ent partitions are lined by the cylinders already mentioned, each form- 
ing thus a little compartment of its own, avoiding all pressure from the 
contents of the others, and each of these should be provided with some 
extra cotton. One or two eggs may then be placed in each cylinder, 
with cotton on top and between them, to keep them from moving around, 
and if the eggs are of small size sets of four may be placed together, 
but in such a case each egg must be wrapped in cotton separately. 
Under no circumstances should the eggs be put in loose, with the shells 
touching each other. Placed in this way, some are sure to be either 
eracked or broken. If the eggs are of fair size more than two should 
never be put in the same compartment, as their combined weight might 
erush the lower ones. With ordinary care and packed as above frail 
and unblown eggs will nevertheless stand considerabie jolting. 
Many rare and valuable specimens are also lost through improper 
packing when sent by mail or express; by observing the following 
rules, such losses may be to a great extent avoided. Egg-shells, even 
after having been blown, should (during transit, at least) never touch 
each other. Each egg should be wrapped separately in cotton, and 
they should not be packed too close. In sending eggs through the 
mail, they should be packed in stout wooden boxes, the box being first 
lined with cotton all around and the eggs placed in afterwards, rather 
loosely, each egg wrapped in cotton by itself. Tin boxes are not as 
good as wooden ones. Cigar boxes answer well, provided they are 
partitioned off through the middie, to prevent the lid being crushed in 
on top of the eggs, which often happens where this precaution is not 
taken. 
