102 KINDS AND QUALITIES OF EGGS. 
general truth; the apteryx of New Zealand is, 
however, an exception. Birds which quit the 
nest soon after hatching are more fully de- 
veloped when hatched, hence come from a larger 
ege2. 
That birds have existed whose eggs were of 
enormous size has been proved by the discovery 
of the shells. 
The eggs of the moa, an ancient bird of New 
Zealand, were very large; and those of the 
Aepyornis maximus were equal to about one 
hundred and fifty of those of the common fowl, 
and had a long diameter of over a foot. 
Bird’s nesting is allowable in the interest of 
science, and collections of eggs increase in value 
as the species decrease. 
This is shown by the price brought by a sin- 
gle egg of the great auk, which was sold in 
London in 1888 for $1,100. 
Only sixty-seven specimens of these eggs are 
known to exist, though two hundred years ago 
the birds were plenty. 
