436 C. R. Eastman — Another Egg of StrutliioKthus. 



a brother missionary who has likewise spent many years in China, 

 was present when the egg was sold, and on revisiting the United 

 States last spring, brought the specimen with him at the instance 

 of Mr. Sprague, to be offered for sale to some scientific establishment. 

 The Chinese workman who found the egg was well-known to 

 the servants of the missionaries as a native of Yao Kuan Chuang. 

 This is a small village in the district of Hsi Ning, about fifty miles 

 south-southwest from Kalgan by road, but somewhat nearer in. 

 a straight line, as that region is very mountainous. Subsequently 

 Mr. Sprague visited the exact spot where the eggs were dug up, in 

 company with the man who found them, and thus satisfied himself 

 of the authenticity of the discovery. The fragments of the second 

 specimen were unfortunately not preserved, and as Mr. Sprague was 

 in doubt whether the perfect one was indeed an egg, or perhaps 

 only a geode, he made a small incision at one end to ascertain if 

 there were crystals on the inside. But on illuminating the walls 

 of the interior, they were found to present the same general appear- 

 ance as the external surface, and a loose calcareous mass, partly in 

 the form of powder and partly flakes that appear to have become 

 scaled off from the inner surface, was found within the cavity. 

 This mass is still preserved in the same condition as when found, 

 and weighs 18-1 grams. Possibly it represents in part the calcified 

 shell membranes, such as have been found fossilized in certain moa 

 eggs. Examined with a pocket lens, the flakes present no appear- 

 ance of having an organized structure. Without this interiorly 

 contained mass, the shell weighs a trifle more than 310 grams. Its 

 other dimensions are given in the following table, together with 

 measurements of other large fossil eggs. 



COMPAUATITE DIMENSIONS OF THE EgG-ShELLS OF STRUTHIOtTS BiKDS. 



It is probable that the Chinese specimen was only partially 

 embedded in the soil when found, the evidence for this being that 

 the greater portion of the surface is incrusted, more or less 

 granulated, or otherwise affected by atmospheric erosion. The least 



