HINTS TO SPORTSMEN, ETC., IN LAPLAND. 155 



nest with the full number of eggs, for I consider 

 the nest quite as valuable and interesting as the 

 eggs themselves. As all the eggs belonging to the 

 same nest are numbered with the same figure, by 

 a reference to his little note book, the identifica- 

 tion of any egg (even if his eggs get mixed) is 

 very easy. 



No matter how hard an egg is sat on I can 

 always clean out the embryo by the following pro- 

 cess, which beats all others : Make a largish 

 hole in, the side, by cutting a square piece of the 

 shell out with a scalpel or scissors ; pick out as 

 much of the young bird as you safely can, and 

 then blow water into the egg with the blow-pipe ; 

 let it stand for some days in a dark drawer or 

 box, and keep repeating this process about every 

 third day, gradually blowing more water into the 

 shell, and picking a little out till the whole of the 

 embryo has rotted away. This is by far the safest 

 and surest plan with a valuable egg. 



