newly-discovered Eggs of the Great Auk. 423 



of the lots, which was described as " a collection of shells and 

 fossils/' was purchased for 36 shillings by Mr. Wallace 

 Hewett, of Newington, Kent, who, previous to the sale, in 

 looking at the fossils, had recognized an egg of the Great 

 Auk lying amongst them. After the auction, upon obtaining 

 possession of his purchase, he was surprised at finding a 

 second egg of this bird at the bottom of the box. To make 

 assurance doubly sure, Mr. Hewett took these two eggs to 

 the Natural History Museum and submitted them to Dr. 

 Bowdler Sharpe, who confirmed his identification and very 

 kindly sent him on to me. From the dirty condition of the 

 eggs it was quite certain that they had been neglected for 

 many years. Tlie smaller one had a hole in one side, the 

 edges of which were as dirty as the rest of the egg, showing 

 it to have been an old injury. Both had recent fractures, 

 which was hardly to be wondered at, considering their rough 

 treatment. 



The larger egg, which measures 4|^^, x 2^, J inches, is a very 

 beautiful specimen — a creamy-white shell of fine texture, 

 streaked and blotched, especially at the smaller end, with 

 rich red-brown. 



The smaller egg, measuring 4^^ x 2^;^ inches, has a very 

 rough texture, the markings being chiefly shell-spots. 



I regret to say that I have been unable to trace the 

 history of these eggs previous to the sale of March 14th, 

 They were again sold by Mr. Stevens at his King Street 

 Auction Rooms on April the 24th. The larger one was 

 purchased by Mr. Herbert Massey for 260 guineas, and 

 the smaller by Mr. H. Munt for 175 guineas. 



During the last 14 years six eggs of the Great Auk 

 have been discovered, but as three of these, and three 

 others formerly in private hands, have been presented to 

 public institutions, the number in private hands has not 

 increased. 



Of the recorded specimens, fifty are in Great Britain, 

 ten in France, three in Germany, one each in Denmark, 

 Portugal, and Switzerland, and two in the United States. 



