20 ORNITHOLOGIST 
of thirty inches, by twenty-four from front to 
back, has been found by the present writer a very 
convenient size. Drawers of different depths 
prove very annoying when the growth of a col- 
lection requires the shifting of the large eggs in- 
to those which were originally calculated for 
It is hetter therefore to have all the 
drawers four inches deep, even if a little space is 
wasted, The additional depth is also a great pro- 
tection against breakage of small eggs. 
In considering the advantages of arranging 
eges in trays no account has been taken of the 
great convenience it is to be able to remove the 
trays with the specimens in them to the study 
table. This alone should decide the student to 
adopt this plan. Nothing has been said above 
about the order in which the species are to be 
kept, as it is presumed that Mr. Ridgway’s no- 
menclature and arrangement will be followed, or 
else that of Dr. Coues. Any one who arranges 
his collection in a manner which does not follow 
a scientific classification, is unworthy of having 
advice given him. 
small ones, 
en 
The Best Manner of Measuring Eggs. 
In one of the numbers of THe ORNITHOLOGIST 
AND OOLOGIST some one informed us that the 
most convenient way of measuring eggs was to 
take some soft, damp sand, and press them in it 
until half covered by it. (In the case of delicate 
eggs it was recommended that a hollow should 
first be made in the sand with the finger to avoid 
breaking them.) The mould made by the egg 
could then be measured with a flat rule. This is 
both a primitive and a dangerous method, and 
one which cannot be too strongly condemned. 
Imagine the feelings of the owner of some rare 
set of eggs like those of the Swallow-tailed Kite, 
( Hlanoides forficatus, if he cracked the shell of one 
of them while thus pressing it in the damp sand ! 
The only safe and accurate way to measure 
eggs is with a pair of steel calipers. Those made 
hy Darling, Brown and Sharpe, of Providence, 
Rhode Island, have been found very convenient 
and accurate. They are divided into hundredths 
of an inch, (the scale in almost universal use for 
eggs in this country.) and are simple in their con- 
struction, 
Placing the egg on a large pasteboard tray, the 
bottom of which is covered with a thin and flat 
piece of raw cotton to prevent rolling, the sliding 
arm of the calipers is moved along to a distance 
great enough to include the length of the egg. 
The delicate adjustment is then made by turning 
the little wheel which controls the movement of 
the sliding arm until the exact length is ascer- 
[Vol. 11--No. 2 
tained. Care must be used, however, not to make 
the adjustment of the sliding arm too tight, as ac- 
cidents to the eggs, especially if thin-shelled, 
would be the resut of this. The best way is to 
make it just near enough to allow the calipers to 
move slowly up and down and just graze the 
shell. The width of the egg must be taken at its 
widest point, and can be done in a similar manner. 
The writer has measured a great many rare and 
valuable eggs by this method without a single 
mishap. 
Calipers which work on a pivot at the top are 
not accurate enough, and also do not allow the 
full length or breadth of larger eggs to be taken. 
The want of the accurate adjustment by means of 
the wheel is also a fatal objection to them. 
A Large Collection of Eggs. 
What is probably the largest private collection 
of eggs in the world is in possession of Mr. 
William Stoate, of Wembdon, Bridgewater, Eng- 
land. The catalogue of this famous collection, 
issued in 1884, contains 2,154 species, and em- 
braces eggs from all partsof the world. In turn- 
ing over its pages one cannot but wonder how so 
many species could be acquired by one person; 
and the patience, skill and perseverence requisite 
must have been astonishing. 
Some idea of its completeness may be gained 
from the fact that the eggs of the order Raptores 
alone number 151 species, and they include those 
of many very rare birds. Mr. Stoate has been es- 
pecially fortunate in obtaining many very rare 
American species, and those alone would form a 
most valuable collection. 
——_ +> 
Eggs of the St. Lucas Cactus Wren. 
orn 
Dr. Coues, in his Key, p. 275, after describing 
the eggs of the ordinary Cactus Wren, (Vampy- 
lorhynchus brunneicapillus), as“about 6, 1.00x0.86, 
white, uniformly and minutely dotted with sal- 
mon color,” says of those of the St. Lucas Cactus 
Wren, (Campylorhynchus affinis), “nest and eggs 
as before ’’—meaning that the description of those 
of C. brunneteapillus would apply to those of C. 
uffinis equally well. This statement is also borne 
out by the experience of Mr. W. Otto Emerson, 
of Haywards, California, who declares that the 
eggs of both species are entirely similar. The 
writer has examined a number of sets of eggs of 
both of these birds, and does not find this to be 
the case with the series before him. Those of the 
C. brunneicapillus are as Dr. Coues describes 
them, though varying considerably both as to 
length and breadth; but the eggs of C. affins are 
generally longer, and the ground color is much 
