524 BIRD'S EGGS. 



lowes, he made the same promise as Mr Mawman had done before 

 him ; and that same promise is now continued by his son Thomas, 

 39 Ludgate Street, Ludgate Hill; and we both rejoiced that "Water- 

 ton's Wanderings " had not been sullied by caricatures or mystified 

 by notes of closet-naturalists. I have carefully examined the notes, 

 and additions, and drawings which you have sent me, and which I 

 return by this day's post. They will not do. The drawings are very 

 faulty. Accoways never drink pywarri, or by some called pioio, out 

 of a boat, as drawn by T. H. Berman. It would never do for me to 

 be beholden to the knight for scenes, &c. I could produce volumes 

 of scenes, illustrated in the forests by myself. In a word, my " Wan- 

 derings " are truly and really an original work, and I will never con- 

 sent to see them defiled or misrepresented by any mortal man. In 

 great haste, believe me, my dear Sir, very truly yours, 



CHARLES WATERTON. 



BIRDS' EGGS. 



"Si sumas ovum, molle sit, atque novum." Schola Sakrnitana* 



I HAVE been blundering at this work for some years, " seeking for 

 something I could not find," and always dissatisfied with myself on 

 account of the failure. The object of my search was to try to find 

 out how I could properly dispose of the thin white membrane next 

 the shell of the egg. When left in, it is apt to corrupt ; in which 

 case, the colour of the shell will sometimes fade, and an offensive 

 smell is produced, which a lapse of years will not subdue. Last 

 spring I thought I had succeeded ; but it turned out to be a very 

 partial success. I, first, by blowing, discharged the contents of five 

 swan's eggs, and then immersed the shells in a tub of water for a 

 month. This enabled me to pull out the thin membrane by means 

 of a piece of wire bent at the end. But I found that the colour of 

 the shell had faded considerably. Moreover, the process required 



