SERIES OF EGGS WANTED. 23 



clever mechanic ought to construct this little machine 

 at small trouble and expense. 



MANY SPECIMENS DESIRABLE. 



Sometimes by removing all the eggs in a nest 

 except one or two, without handling those left, a 

 large number can be obtained from one pair of birds ; 

 often, however, the nest will be found abandoned on 

 a second visit, and in some cases, all the eggs de- 

 stroyed or removed. It is well, therefore, particu- 

 larly if at a distance from home, to take all the eggs 

 at once, and the nest along with them, if you need 

 it; nor, if you propose to make a close study of 

 oology, will a single set, or, sometimes, even a dozen 

 sets, suffice to show extremes of variation. 



A PLEA FOE THE STUDY OF THE NESTS. 



Whether or not it is worth while to collect nests — 

 for there are many persons who never do so — is, it 

 seems to me, only a question of room in the cabinet. 

 As a scientific study there is far more advantage to 

 be obtained from a series of nests than from a series 

 of eggs. The nest is something with which the will 

 and energies of the bird are concerned. It expresses 

 the character of the workman ; is to a certain extent 

 an index of its rank among birds, — for in general 



