BIRDS’ NESTS, EGGS, AND EGG- 
COLLECTING. 
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INTRODUCTION. 
The Problem of Preservation.—As a rule the 
first subject to which the young naturalist turns his at- 
tention is the most interesting one within his reach, and 
that subject is undoubtedly found in bird-life; particu- 
larly that portion of it which concerns the nests, eggs, 
young, and various modes of nidification, for this is 
really the kernel of ornithology. Its details teach him 
the utility of systematic study and close observation, two 
important points in all matters of scientific research. 
It is my intention in the following pages to furnish 
as full and interesting particulars on Oology, which may 
fairly be entitled to the dignity of a science, as can be 
found, or is likely to be required, in any popular treatise of 
its modest compass. 
This particular branch of natural history has been 
until lately but indifferently studied—in fact, considered 
unworthy of higher attention than that which could be 
bestowed upon it by schoolboys. People have been content 
to know that the wonderful architecture and mechanism 
of a bird’s nest was the outcome of a force vaguely known 
as instinct, without taking the trouble to discover its 
workings, extent, or limits. 
