42 BIRDS'-NESTTNG. 



Your ingenuity will thus invent substitutes for 

 regular tools. Scores of times I have sat down 

 under the tree where I have found a bird's nest, and 

 blown the eggs nicely, with no better instruments 

 than a buckskin needle and a hollow stem of ripe 

 grass— the latter malting a very good blow-pipe, 

 since it is exceedingly light; while if your metal 

 pipe drops from your lips, the chances are that your 

 egg is demolished. Small fresh eggs, I, myself, do 

 not object to sucking directly, lying on my back, and 

 letting the egg rest cushioned between my lips, 

 guarding it with care against contact with the teeth. 

 "Whatever bad taste remains in the mouth is quickly 

 got rid of by a morsel of candy or spice, which can 

 be carried in the pocket for this purpose ; or aro- 

 matic herbs, like peppermint or the pungent barks 

 of spicewood and birch, are easily found, and effect- 

 ually obliterate the memory of the raw yolk. 



TREATMENT OF INCUBATED EGGS. 



My remarks, so far, have applied to fresh eggs, 

 in the manipulation of which the young collector will 

 soon become proficient ; but eggs which contain em- 

 bryos present some difficulties, and require the help 

 of certain instruments to empty and preserve prop- 

 erly. 



