148 



METHODS IN THE ART OF TAXIDERMY. 



full data should alzvays accompany the set in making exchanges. Be- 

 sides the above particulars the note-book should be filled with memo- 

 randa devoted to the records of nests found and examined ; the gen- 

 eral nature of the surroundings ; the precise color and condition of 

 the eggs when found, as all these fade quickly from the memory. 



I shall here recommend taking the measurements of all sets of 

 eggs and recording the same in your note-book and on the label. It 

 will assist in keeping each set together and will add more to their 

 interest and value. To facilitate the measuring of a large series 

 of eggs for records in my Nests and Eggs of North American 

 Birds., I designed for my private use an oological ride ' with a scale 

 of inches and hundredths on one side and a scale of millimetres on the 

 other. It is so simply constructed that a child can read the measure- 

 ments when they are once registered. It also answers the purpose 

 for taking measurements of the smaller ornithological specimens. 



In climbing high trees, climbing irons are often used. A wooden 

 or tin box, filled with cotton, should be taken up with you ; in this, 

 securely place the eggs before descending the tree. 



When eggs are to be shipped by mail or express they should never 

 be packed in anything but wooden or tin boxes. Each egg should be 

 wrapped in cotton and bound tightly with thread and then wrapped in 

 tissue paper. Place them in layers in the box with bits of cotton be- 

 tween each ^%'g. The bottom, sides and end of the box are often lined 

 with .sheet cotton which is still better protection. 



In all ordinary cases collections of eggs are preserved in the 

 drawers of a cabinet. These are divided by partitions, and each sec- 

 tion partially filled with grated cork or boxwood sawdust, in which the 

 eggs are placed. Every collector should adopt some method of 

 arranging eggs in the cabinet, and a system of classification should at 

 all times be followed. 



The very best trays or boxes ever designed for keeping eggs in 

 the drawers of a cabinet or for exhibition purposes are those manufac- 

 tured by E. J. Schaefer, No. -538 Second street, New Orleans, Louisiana. 

 They are neatly made of paste-board and the sides and bottom are in- 

 geniously cushioned with strips of sheet cotton. Each box has a lid 

 on which the label can be pasted. These boxes are made to suit all 

 sizes of eggs, and range in price from $2.50 to ;^8.00 per hundred, ac- 

 cording to size. 



Oological Instruments. — In our Plate XL I II are figured the vari- 

 ous instruments used in the collecting and the preparation of birds' 



1. This rule will shortly be manufactured and will hu for sale liy <lealers in naturalists' supplies. 



