]2 BRITISH BIRDS, THEIR EGGS AND NESTS. 



hole and sucking or drawing in the air from the shell with the 

 mouth through the other just reversing the late process of 

 " blowing" in short. The shell, when half-full, should be well 

 shaken, and the water then expelled as the legitimate contents 

 had been: a very gentle puif will suffice for this. Repeat the 

 process two or three times, or until the water comes out as clear 

 as it went in ; then dry the egg as well as you can by blowing 

 through it at intervals, after it has been so held that, the moisture 

 on the inside may all trickle down towards the vent-hole; after 

 which it may be set up for some hours in an airy, but not 

 sunny, place to dry thoroughly. Some collectors varnish their 

 eg^s. A little of the white of the egg itself is all-sufficient, 

 and that should not be applied unless the egg is perfectly clean, 

 which is by no means the case with the eggs of many ground- 

 building birds when taken from the nest. I have taken Dab- 

 chicks' eggs also so completely muddied all over, that it was 

 almost impossible to get them clean. One, met with on one of the 

 Essex marshes a year or two since, which was the only one yet 

 laid and apparently not a day old, was so engrained with dirt or 

 mud that it defied all efforts to restore it to its pristine 

 whiteness. In the case of an originally white egg, such efforts 

 will /lot do much harm ; in the case of an egg strongly marked 

 with deep colours, it is a different matter. The efforts to remove 

 the clay or dirt imparted by the feet of the parent bird may 

 succeed in removing the stains in queition, but may also very 

 likely remove some of the tints or stronger colouring too. It 

 must be remembered that the deeper colours of many eggs are 

 not " fast," at all events when 1 hey have not been long laid, 

 and that attempts at cleansing more vigorous than judicious may 

 easily produce an undesired result. 



If the vent hole is necessarily made large, there is no objection 

 to placing a piece of thin or gauze paper, wetted with the varnish 

 or white of the egg, so as to cover the entire orilice, and so 

 exclude dust or other intrusive substances. As to mounting the 

 eggs, and labelling for insertion in the collection, much depends 

 on taste. An ordinary " printer's" card is as good for the 

 purpose as anything, and a little very strong gum- water is the 

 only other requisite. A little attention to placing the eggs sym- 

 metrically ana neatly, and the use of a few gun-wads or half- 

 pence or small wooden wedges, to retain the eggs, when accu- 

 rately set in their true position, until the gum lias had time to 

 harden, are matters which will almost surelv .suggest themselves 

 to any youthful egg-fancier who is only tolerably given to admire 

 the " simplex munditiis. " As for labels, they may either be 

 neatly written, or procured at a very light cost, printed on purpose 

 for such application. 



