32 PREPARATION OF SPECIMENS FOR STUDY. 



number should be neatly written in ink. It is seldom 

 advisable, and often impossible, to make an inscrip- 

 tion of any length upon the shell, and the number 

 alone usually answers every purpose. Eggs are best 

 kept loose in small shallow trays of pasteboard, in a 

 drawer of the cabinet ; each tray containing also a 

 written label corresponding as far as practicable to the 

 entry in the register. They may also be packed in 

 cotton in small boxes, as cigar boxes, for example. 

 The largest and best public collection in this country 

 — that in the Smithsonian Institution — is preserved in 

 the former manner; Captain Bendire's collection, the 

 best private one by far, is, I believe, kept in cotton in 

 many small boxes. 



For preservation, eggs must of course be emptied 

 of their contents. This is accomplished by drilling a 

 single hole near the middle of the egg, with the steel 

 instrument to be procured of any dealer in natural his- 

 tory material. Drills of several sizes must be used for 

 the different kinds of eggs. Having carefully drilled 

 the hole, insert a blow-pipe, and force the contents out 

 by blowing, holding the egg meanwhile over a basin 

 of water. No particular directions need be given ; a 

 few trials will show the operator what delicacy of 

 manipulation is necessary to prevent breakage. Acci- 

 dents are more liable to happen from blowing too hard, 

 by bursting the egg, than by breaking it under the 

 fingers in drilling or during subsequent handling. A 

 perfectly fresh egg is easily emptied ; and nothing fur- 

 ther is required than to rinse it thoroughly, by taking 

 water into the mouth and spirting it through the blow- 

 pipe. A Robin's egg, for example, may be perfectly 

 emptied and rinsed through a hole scarcely admitting 



