224 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 
altogether with the beautiful green eggs forming a pretty 
picture. There was the usual amount of bedding for the 
egos, which were an uncompleted clutch of 6, The bird was 
not sitting, but was seen loitering not far distant. In the 
uncertain light (it being sundown) the bird appeared to be 
the female. 
As I was sure the eggs in the last-mentioned clutch were 
perfectly fresh, I brought one full to my home in Melbourne. 
It weighed 1 lb. 74 oz. (a weight about equal to a dozen 
ordinary domestic fowl’s eggs), the shell weighing 3 oz, 
leaving a nett result of 204 oz. This quite filled a medium- 
sized frying-pan, making a substantial breakfast for a family. 
Contrary to expectation, the flavour was, if anything, milder 
than that of the domestic fowl’s which was cooked afterwards 
in the same pan for comparison; therefore some palates 
may consider the Emv’s eggs tasteless, but we proved it a 
delicacy. Moreover, the appearance when cooked was clean 
and tempting; the yolk was light yellow; the albumen firm 
but semi-transparent, not an opaque white, when cooked, 
like an ordinary fowl’s egg, nor so glutinous as a Mutton- 
bird’s (Petrel) or other sea-fowl’s. To boil an Emv’s egg, I 
believe, takes about twenty minutes. 
The aboriginals cook Emu’s eggs by boring a small hole at 
one end, and violently shaking the contents into the hot 
ashes of their camp fire; every few minutes the shaking is 
renewed, while the whole mess is turned repeatedly until 
properly cooked. 
While mentioning about aboriginals, they only appreciate 
Emu’s flesh, although sometimes white men use the oil. 
The aboriginals stalk and spear the bird by stealth, but like 
better to wait at a water-hole where birds come to drink. 
When the Emu is on his hunkers at the water’s brink, the 
dusky hunter in ambush drops a tomahawk or spear upon 
the unsuspecting bird. In parts of Central Australia the 
natives taint the water with a weed of narcotic propensities, 
thus stupefying the birds that drink. On this subject Pro- 
fessor Baldwin Spencer remarks :—“ Attention is drawn to 
the curious use which the natives make of some plants, such 
as pituri. In certain parts of Central Australia, as, for 
