524 BIRD'S EGGS. 



lowes, he made the same promise as Mr Mawman had done before 

 him ; and that same promise is now continued by his son Thomas, 

 39 Ludgate Street, Ludgate Hill; and we both rejoiced that "Water- 

 ton's Wanderings " had not been sullied by caricatures or mystified 

 by notes of closet- naturalists. I have carefully examined the notes, 

 and additions, and drawings which you have sent me, and which I 

 return by this day's post. They will not do. The drawings are very 

 faulty. Accoways never drink pywarri, or by some called pioio, out 

 of a boat, as drawn by T. H. Berman. It would never do for me to 

 be beholden to the knight for scenes, &c. I could produce volumes 

 of scenes, illustrated in the forests by myself. In a word, my " Wan- 

 derings " are truly and really an original work, and I will never con- 

 sent to see them denied or misrepresented by any mortal man. In 

 great haste, believe me, my dear Sir, very truly yours, 



CHARLES WATERTON. 



BIRDS' EGGS. 



" SI sumas ovum, molle sit, atque novum." Schola Salernitana. 



I HAVE been blundering at this work for some years, " seeking for 

 something I could not find," and always dissatisfied with myself on 

 account of the failure. The object of my search was to try to find 

 out how I could properly dispose of the thin white membrane next 

 the shell of the egg. When left in, it is apt to corrupt ; in which 

 case, the colour of the shell will sometimes fade, and an offensive 

 smell is produced, which a lapse of years will not subdue. Last 

 spring I thought I had succeeded \ but it turned out to be a very 

 partial success. I, first, by blowing, discharged the contents of five 

 swan's eggs, and then immersed the shells in a tub of water for a 

 month. This enabled me to pull out the thin membrane by means 

 of a piece of wire bent at the end. But I found that the colour of 

 the shell had faded considerably. Moreover, the process required 



