20 



THE YOUNG OOLOGIST. 



wood, as paste-board boxes without any- 

 thing to protect them, would certainly be 

 broken or crushed in transportation. We 

 have found this to be invariably our ex- 

 perience, and we have had many valuable 

 eggs broken from their having been packed 

 in paste-board boxes, and not enclosed in 

 wooden ones. 



If raw cotton cannot be procured in 

 sufficient quantity at a cheap rate, old 

 rope carefully picked into tow makes a 

 very good substitute. Or the silk from 

 the ear of Indian Corn makes a capital 

 article for the purpose. Large eggs may 

 be packed in dry moss, using great care to 

 envelope them entirely in it. But after all, 

 raw cotton is by far the best substance to 

 use when it can be procured cheaply. 



Never pack eggs in sawdust or bran ; 

 it works in at the holes where the eggs are 

 blown, and makes them so solid that they 

 jolt together in the box and break. We 

 have seen some very valuable eggs entirely 

 ruined by being packed in this manner. 



Suggestions for findlng the Nests 

 OF Birds. — Birds breed in accordance with 

 the latitude of the country they select, and 

 their eggs are to be found from February 

 to August. Most birds, however, breed in 

 the months April, May and June ; but the 

 nests of all large hawks and owls should be 

 sought for at least a month or two previous, 

 according to the latitude of the place 

 where the collector is located. In fact it 

 is utterly impossible to give exact dates for 

 certain species, as they vary in almost 

 every State, and even in the different parts 

 of a State. The collector must use his own 

 judgement in regard to this point, and be 

 on the lookout for the early breeding birds. 



Many hawks and owls breed in deserted 

 crow's nests, and also in holes and cavities 

 in decayed trees. When they go to the 

 trouble of building a nest for themselves it 

 can hardly be distinguished from that of a 

 crow, if it be on a tree. A great many 

 species of hawks and owls have a great 

 partiality for the nest occupied by them 

 during the previous season, and they will 

 often return to it year after year. 



The eggs of all woodpeckers, creepers, 

 titmice, nuthatches, &c. , are very rare, 

 and extremely difficult to find, owing to 

 the unexpected cracks and crevices in 

 which they breed. 



Many sandpipers and plovers breed in 

 plowed fields, and in meadows near a fence, 

 or in a clump of grass. All eggs of this 

 class of birds are much wanted by oolo- 

 gists. They are hard to find, owing to a 

 habit that they have of running along the 

 ground for a distance before taking flight, 

 and thus misleading the collector as fo the 

 position of their nest. If concealed, the 

 collector will often have an oppor- 

 tunity of seeing them alight near their nest. 

 If they are particularly shy, and persist 

 in running before taking flight, try the ex- 

 periment of discharging a gun suddenly. 

 Very often in their flight they will take 

 wing directly from their nest. 



Another good way to find the nests of 

 birds that breed in the grass or in marshes, 

 is to throw down your hat or some other 

 article, as near the place where the bird 

 rose as you can. Now hunt round in a 

 circle from the object which you threw 

 down, and you will stand a much better 

 chance of finding the nest, than if the eye 

 had no guide to help it. A dog (particu- 

 larly a trained setter or pointer) is a very 

 valuable companion for an ^gg collector. 

 He should be well taught, however, not to 

 rush in and break or devour the eggs before 

 his master can come up. 



In conclusion dear reader, I would ask 

 you if you are an egg collector ? If so, you 

 have chosen one of the most rational and 

 interesting of sports. Sport it certainly is^ 

 and quite as legimate sport as the pursuit of 

 the birds themselves ; for when you kill 

 the bird you destroy all hope of future 

 progeny, but if a nest of eggs be taken, 

 cannot its owner readily replace them with 

 another lot. 



*This article was written a number of year.s ago 

 for the Country Gentleman, and as we consider the 

 instructions as complete as any published, we reprint 

 them for the benefit of the readers of The Young 

 OOLOIGIST. — [Ed. 



