EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 101 



having to suffer for the misdeeds of the former, owing- to 

 ignorance on the part of the people. A gentleman, whilst 

 travelling in the north of Yorkshire, says he called at a 

 small country cottage covered by ivy of immense growth, 

 and surrounded by some very nice little gardens, in which 

 wore innumerable black currant trees. He found its solo 

 occupants to be three old maids, who managed to get a 

 living out of their gardens and a small farm. He was 

 struck by the number of birds' eggs they had got, all 

 threaded on to strings, and hung up against the old thick 

 walls of the windows, like the trophies of a Red Indian in 

 his wigwam. Upon making inquiry into their history, 

 one of them pointed to a rusty old piece hung upon the 

 cross-beam of the ceiling, saying, " When our poor brother 

 was alive he used to clear our pests away with that ; 

 but now he is gone we try to keep the stock down by 

 taking their eggs, which we keep a sharp look-out for in 

 the spring, when we are attending to our farm and gather- 

 ing firewood in the surrounding neighbourhood/' Such 

 was the wanton destruction of the feathery tribe through 

 ignorantly confounding all with the one guilty culprit — 

 the Blackbird. 



We therefore draw these general remarks to a close 

 with a repetition of the hope, that none of our readers 

 will take more eggs than is absolutely necessary for the 

 purposes of a collection. 



/ THE GOLDFINCH. 



This bird seems actually to prefer cultivated districts, as it 

 builds its nest in gardens and orchards, and has been even 

 known to build in rose-bushes and other trees trained against 



