Dec. 1887.] 



a:n^d oologist. 



207 



The Capacity of Eggs. 



BY AVALTER HOXIE, FROGMORE, S. C. 



For several years past I have experimented 

 by fits and starts on some expeditious and ac- 

 curate method of determining the capacity of 

 eggs. The readers of the O. and O. have had 

 a paragraph or so of my experience, and now I 

 hope I have made a depaiture whicli may be of 

 practical value. 



I constructed a scale to weigh a half ounce 

 at six inches from the balancing point. The 

 tenths of an ounce were then an inch and a 



No. of Egj?; 

 Weigheil. 



10 

 5 

 3 



10 



10 

 3 



10 

 5 



10 

 1 

 5 

 1 

 4 

 1 

 5 



Name. 



quarter apart, and the hundredths one-eighth 

 of an inch. This is plenty large enough for 

 quick and accurate work in the evening, and 

 very convenient for "the old party in specks," 

 who is just my size, age and everything, you 

 know. A big basin of dust shot, a tea spoon 

 and a paper funnel constitute the rest of the 

 apparatus. The eggs are filled with dust shot, 

 gently shaken down till no more will enter, and 

 then weighed. 



The following list is the record of last night's 

 work. It will be seen that it includes a little 

 over a hundred determinations of weight which 

 make good comparisons of capacity. 



Capacity in Oz. Average Capacity in 

 of Sliot. Variation. Cubic Inches. 



10 



Quail ( Orti/x virginiaun), 2.00 



Clapper Rail (liallus lonyirostris crepitans) 3.88 



Oyster Catcher (Hoiinatopus palliatns) 8.91 



Night Hawk (Chordeiles popetue) 1.55 



Cardinal ( CardinaUs virginianus) 1.08 



Mocking Bird {Mimus polyglottus) 1.19 



Red- winged Black Bird (Agelaius phoeniceus 84 



Boat-tailed Grackle ( Quiscalus major) 63 



Wilson's Plover (Octhodromus wilsonins) 2.66 



Nonpariel (Passerina ciris) 39 



Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius) 67 



Long-billed Marsh Wren {Telmntodytes palustris). . . .25 



Royal Tern {Sterna regia) 16.51 



Black Vulture ( Catharista atrata) 22.35 



J^east Tern (Sterna antillarum) 1.76 



Willet (Sijmpherniu semipalmata) 7.89 



Florida Gallinule (Gallinula yaleata) 4.31 



Snowy Heron (Garzetta candidissimu) 4.32 



Louisiana Heron (Hijdranassa tricolor ludaciciana) • . 4.42 



The average vai'iation is the numerator of 

 all variation, whether jjositive or negative. 

 To illustrate take the five quail : 



No. 1, 2.02 .2 



.4 

 .3 

 .0 

 .3 



5 J .12 



2.00 .02 



This seems to me to be a very good way to 

 give a tangible argument in place of " proba- 

 bly the same" and "probably greater." I'm a 

 Yankee and I can guess pretty sharp, but I 

 can't guess which is the bigger of two eggs to 

 save me. 



Large Set of Eggs of the Carolina 

 RaiL 



Mr. E. G. Tabor, of Meridian, N. V., reports 

 having found a nest of the Carolina Rail 

 (known also as the Sora Rail — Porzana rar- 

 oUna) containing seventeen eggs, and wishes 

 to know if that is not a most unusual number. 

 In some of them incubation was far advanced, 

 while others were only slightly incubated. 



Mr. II. Taylor, of Poughkeepsie, X. V., re- 

 ports with good evidence, the nesting of the 

 Blue-wing Teal, (Querquedula discors) at Black 

 Pond, Ulster Co., N. Y., in the summer of 1886. 



