2 THE ORNITHOLOGISTS’ AND OOLOGISTS’ SEMI-ANNUAL. 
of these will do, provided you do not insert the point of the pipe in- 
to the hole in the egg. The curved blow pipe is the most 
convenient. Glass ones are not to be thought of, from their lability 
to break. I have used a curved brass blow-pipe, six inches in length, 
for several years and it is still as good as new.’ Tne original cost, was, 
I think, 20 cts. and I’ve prepared about 1500 eggs with it. Other 
articles that are needed are an embryo hook and a small pair of scis- 
sors. With such an outfit, anyone can prepare eggs (the tuols neces- 
sary for preserving birds will be given further on.) 
Various ways are recommended for draining or drying the eggs 
after blowing, such as laying them, hole downward, on a bed of sand, 
cotton batting, blotting paper, etc. Jl tell you of the ‘dryer’ that 
I use and how to make it. Take a piece of card-board of suitable 
size,(mine is 12-18 inches) draw lines across, lengthwise, 1-2 an inch 
apart : now draw another set of lines, the same distance apart and at 
right angles to the first lines. Where the lines intersect punch holes 
with a .32 calibre wad-cutter. Mount this perforated card-board on 
a wooden frame, stretching it tight,(a few strips of wood nailed to 
the frame under the card-board will keep it from sagging) tack sides 
to the frame, projecting about two inckes above the card-board bot- 
tom, all round, and you have what appears to be a shallow box with 
a perforated bottom. The eggs are placed in this form, hole down- 
ward ; and as the hole in the egg is thus placed in the hole that has 
been punched in the card-board, a free circulation of air is insured, 
all around and in the egg, drying it in the shortest time ; and there 
will be no cotton, sand or anything else, sticking around the edges of 
the hole, ; 
Having indicated the tools necessary, a few hints about the field- 
work part of collecting comes next ; and here | wish to warn the 
young collector against being of a too greedy disposition and “bag- 
ging” everything he finds. Of many species he will find hundreds of 
eggs,(that is in a region where bird-life is plenty) and in cases of this 
kind he can take for his own collection as many eggs as desirable to 
show the variations, and a few for exchange. He can always have 
his choice here and take only fresh eggs, letting the others alone. 1 
condemn the practice of taking only half the eggs in a nest and leay- 
ing the rest. Nine times out of ten the bird will desert the nest. 
Better take all out of one nest and pass the next one. The bird that 
has been despoiled of its eggs will go elsewhere and build again. 
