THE ORNITHOLOGISTS’ AND OOoLocists’ SEMI-ANNUAL. 5 
ed and also notice that you do not rub off any of the markings onit- 
On some eggs the pigment is only loosely applied on the outside. 
Now place the egg hole downward, directly over one of the holes on 
your dryer and it will drain and dry in a few hours. Continue in the 
above way until you clean all your eggs, keeping each set to itself and 
adding another memorandum in your note-book opposite each set, 
as to the state of incubation of that set. When the eggs are dry fill 
out a data for each set. These particulars are taken from your note- 
book. Suppose he (the collector) takes the first set, that of the Red- 
headed Woodpecker. He will fill out a blank as follows : 
No. 375. Name, Red-headed Woodpecker. 
Collector, John Smith. 
Locality, Boston, Mass. 
Date, June 3d, 1887. 
Set mark, 1-4. 
Number of eggs in set, 4. Identity, bird seen. 
Nest, excavated in an elm tree, 20 feet up; eggs laid on chips at 
bottom of cavity. 
The collector will of course substitute his own name, locality and 
date for those given above, and if this should prove to be the second, 
third or fourth set of that species taken during the season, he would 
mark the set as 2-4, 3-4, 4-4 and so on. 
He will mark every egg of that set 375 1-4, using a soft pencil, mak- 
ing legible figures, not too large, and putting them close to the hole in 
the egg. Never deface an egg by writing the date on it; the above 
is all that is admissible on a first-class specimen, and accompanied by 
the data is all that is necessary. If the collector reserves only one 
egg of the above set, sending out the others to correspondents in ex- 
change, every egg sent out should be accompanied by a data, a copy 
of the original one made out for the set. 
A few words now about forming a collection. Are you coilecting 
hap-hazard, anything and everything, just so you can say that you 
have more eggs than the “other fellows?” If you do collect in this 
way, I’d advise you to quit at once. Do you collect, getting only the 
prettiest eggs, and having them under glass to look at? The Bower 
Birds of Australia build bowers and ornament them with pearly shells, 
bright colored feathers and other decorative material, and no doubt 
derives as much benefit from its collection as the collector who wants 
only the “prettiest’’ eggs. If you collect, however, to learn some- 
