1 76 NOTEBOOKS AND COLLECTIONS 



afterwards. When a genus is a large one, 

 a store-box may be reserved for the sheets 

 belonging to it. The collection must be laid 

 aside in a dry place, for damp will speedily 

 ruin it, and it will be all the better for a little 

 camphor to keep away destructive insects. 



I formerly remarked that birds' eggs can 

 be well studied without collecting them. If, 

 however, a collection is wished, its preparation 

 must be set about in a regular manner. April, 

 May, and June are the best months for 

 collecting eggs, although nests are to be 

 found both earlier and later. The requisites 

 are a stout stick, with a crook to draw aside 

 branches and foliage, several tin and chip 

 boxes, and some paper and cotton-wool 

 When you remove an egg from the nest, 

 handle it with delicacy, so as not to disturb 

 the other eggs that are left. Hold it by the 

 ends, not sideways. Wrap the egg first in 

 cotton-wool, and then in paper, and place 

 it in a chip box. 



On returning home, the contents of the 

 eggs must be at once extracted. There are 

 two methods of doing this, but the first of 

 these is now considered quite out of date, 



