54 



THE OOLOGIST 



One is the subject of marking speci- 

 mens. I frequently receive sets with 

 none of the eggs marked or at most 

 but one. Specimens in this condition 

 seem little better than nameless waifs. 

 They are genuine as to species and 

 are bona-fide sets but when once away 

 from the hands of the man who col- 

 lected them they assume a doubtful 

 status. It seems to me each of the 

 eggs in a set should have marks on it 

 conveying three items of information, 

 i. e., the species, a set mark peculiar 

 to this one set, and the number of eggs 

 in the set. The first should be shown 

 by the A. O. U. check list number. 

 The second may be selected at the dis- 

 cretion of the collector. My set mark 

 system at present is a consecutive col- 

 lection number beginning at 1. In 

 this way similar sets of different sea- 

 sons are never confused by the same 

 set mark. Until the series number 

 reaches five figures it is not at all 

 cumbersome. When 9999 is reached I 

 intend to begin at 1 again and pre- 

 fix "a" as the index of the new series. 

 This method fits in very nicely with 

 a loose leaf field note book I use where 

 in each page is numbered. This page 

 has on it only the notes referring to 

 one particular set and the number of 

 the page is the one given to that set 

 as a set mark. 



The third mark is naturally the 

 number above the hole toward the 

 large end of the egg, and in the other 

 two in the shape of a fraction at the 

 opposite side of the hole, the numer- 

 ator being the set index and the de- 

 nominator the number of eggs in the 

 clutch. 



Some collectors use only a set index, 

 which has one serious objection. 

 When separated from the note book 

 of the collector containing the num- 

 bers in regular order it is impossible 

 to tell the species (in many instances) 

 or the number of eggs in the set. We 



should remember that we are prepar- 

 ing eggs that will exist in collections 

 after we are gone and they should be 

 marked so as to leave no chance for 

 confusion. 



Other collectors begin each season 

 with number 1 and use a different 

 letter each year to designate the year. 

 Probably this is as good a plan as 

 nine but doesn't fit my notebook sys- 

 :em. There are several other systems 

 in use which entail more writing on 

 the eggs and therefore do not seem 

 as desirable, though in the event of 

 lost data the more facts concerning 

 the set that are written on the eggs 

 the better. 



There is one other point I would like 

 space to mention. It is the almost 

 universal habit of collectors sending 

 nests by mail or express, to pack cot- 

 ton either in the nests or around them 

 or both, with nothing between the cot- 

 ton and the nesting material. Many a 

 wasted hour have I spent patiently 

 picking the fuaz of cotton from a 

 lichen-covered nest of one species or 

 from the bark strips and straw of an- 

 other. The wrapping from an orange 

 or a bit of newspaper would make this 

 unnecessary and the nests would ar- 

 rive in as good if not in better shape. 

 F. C. Willard. 



1916. 



Spring is here, hie to the woods 

 and fields. Report all the good things, 

 the rare finds, and the interesting ob- 

 servations to THE OOLOGIST. 



An Open Letter. 



Your promise in the November 

 OOLOGIST to devote an entire num- 

 ber to discussion of methods for the 

 arrangement and preparation of speci- 

 mens was of particular interest to me, 

 and if carried out successfully should 

 prove of benefit to collectors in gen- 

 eral. 



