EGGS OF AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER, 



CONTRIBUTED BY B. R. BALES, M. D. 



(Drawer lining of Virginia sand) 



OYSTERCATCHERS: RUNNING SERIES, 



SIX SPECIES SHOWING 



(Cotton "wool" lining) 



USE OF BEACH SAND AS A DRAWER LINING 



Cotton batting, or cotton "wool," has been, ever since the discredited days 

 of sawdust, the accepted material for use as a background for birds' eggs. It has, 

 of course, much to recommend it: softness, uniformity, indentability, freedom 

 from insect pests, and, at its best, a virginal whiteness which suggests a fitting 

 association for our oological treasures. But the druggist and the draper, no less 

 than the jeweller and the silversmith, have long since discovered that white is a 

 trying color for a foil; that it dissolves and discounts delicate shades, and that it 

 tires the eyes. An extended examination of white-lined drawers induces eye- 

 strain and a semi-nausea, which, unconsciously, discredits the interest of the sub- 

 ject in hand. In striving to escape this handicap, the M. C. O. has employed two 

 expedients, tow and beach sand. The latter in practice especially commends 

 itself, and we believe it to be the ideal foil for the larger eggs, notably for neutral- 

 tinted eggs, like those of the Litnicolae and the Lariformes. Except where the 

 actual local material can be utilized, as with the coarse sands of Monterey, where 

 Least Terns and Snowy Plovers nest, we use Santa Barbara beach sand or Vir- 

 ginia sand. The advantages of this material are worth enumerating. 



In the first place, its neutral tint, almost typical neutral gray in the case 

 of sand from Cobb's Island, is in itself restful and pleasing to the eye. While its 

 use harmonizes the appearance of a series of neutral-colored eggs, it allows the eye 

 to discriminate the minutest differences of shading in those eggs. In the case 

 of Sandpipers, Gulls, and related forms, there is an obvious fitness of association 

 which serves to heighten the interest. The finer beach sands can be sifted over 

 a drawer floor rapidly and with great uniformity to any desired depth. We use 

 for this purpose either an ordinary wire-mesh tea-strainer, or, for the larger 

 drawers, a kitchen flour-sifter. By gentle pressure the eggs can be firmly settled 

 into this medium, when prepared, so that when complete, this drawer can be 

 oscillated (but not too rudely) without a trace of movement in the eggs. 



Of course a little sand will work into the blow-hole of the egg, but if the 

 sand is ocean-washed, clean, and thoroughly dried, this can do no harm. The 



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