CAB "U.KCTI- .j., 



name of collector, and serial collection numl>rr. The label hown in 

 is Mimll. but will illustrate the appearance and manner of at- 

 tin hrm-iit. Tin- name of the owner >f tin- c.illectii.n i* printed mi the 

 back of the label, preceded by tin- word- Collection of." 



Many coi|,-cti>i-> prefer to am as a field lalx-1 a small jeweler's tag 

 u|N>u which thr collection number, sex, and date are written. Tin- 

 large label is added after the >[< nm-n i> dry. 



I of a Collection. The U-st ruses in which to keep a ooll. 

 of hirdskins are known as "Cambridge . ,i;,~." They are made of tin 

 with rovers which fit into grooves lined with rublter tubing, and are 

 practically air-tight. The smaller si/.es COM from live dollars to seven 

 dollars and a half each, and can U- obtained of Muller and Wood, 781 

 Seventh Avenue, New York city. 



A wooden cabinet with tight-fitting drawers and door is less ex- 

 pensive, and with ordinary care will preserve specimens for a prac- 

 tically indefinite period. The drawers should ! thirty inches long by 

 sixteen inches in width. For birds the >i/e of u Robin a depth of one 

 inch and three quarters is sufficient, while drawers f.mr inches deep 

 will take the largest Hawks or Owls. These drawers will hold about 

 thirty birds the size of a Robin, eighty the si/e of u Chickadee, and 

 eight to ten Hawks and Owls. 



Well cleaned and thoroughly poisoned specimen^ ( >mall birds are 

 not likely to be attacked by the moth (Tinea) or leetlcs (Dernuttt* 

 and AiUhrenut) which so often infest poorly prepared or nonpoisoned 

 skins. Naphthaline crystals or camphor gum should le placed in 

 each drawer of the cabinet, the door of which should nt >*> left open 

 needlessly. If a specimen falls a victim t<> in-.-.-r~. the I..-M.T plan U 

 to discard it at once. If, however, it is rare, it may IM- taken out-of- 

 doort and placed in an air-tight box with a few tal.>..p....nfuls of 

 bisulphuret of carbon. 



Cullectituj and Preserving Xests and Eggs. No one, I think, will 

 venture to dispute the assertion that Captain Charles Bemlirc. lli.n- 

 orar)' Curator of the Department of or.ln^y in the I'nited States Na- 

 tional Museum, is our leading authority on the study of birds' eggs. 

 The following quotation, therefore, from Captain Hendire's I n-t ruc- 

 tions for Collecting. Preparing, and Preserving Minis' Kggsand Nests* 

 may be taken as the opinion ,,f one who knows whereof he speaks: 

 " Unless the would-be collector intends to make an espedal study of 

 oology and has a higher aim than the mere desire to tnke and accu- 

 mulate as large a numl-r t .--^s as possible regardless of their proper 

 identification, he had better not begin at all, but leave the nests and 



Part D, Bull. U 8. Nat. Mua,, No. , JWI. pp. 9-10. 



