72 BIBDS'-NESTING. 



MARKING AND MEASTJE1XG. 



The marking of eggs should be indelible. A few 

 of the ornithologists in the neighborhood of Boston 

 choose to mark their eggs with a soft lead-pencil only, 

 wishing to avoid the danger of pricking or scratching 

 through the delicate shell, by reason of unsteadiness 

 of fingers in handling the sharp-pointed pen which is 

 needful for fine lettering. This is a serious danger, 

 certainly ; but on the other hand, the mark of a soft 

 lead-pencil is too easily erased. As a happy medium 

 I would suggest the advantage of black ink and a 

 soft quill pen, or else India ink applied with a small 

 camel's-hair brush ; but the safer way is to use black 

 ink and a quill pen. On those eggs that have a 

 chalky outer layer, and some that have heavy black 

 markings, the number may be scratched; but this 

 must be done with care. Specimens having very 

 darkly colored surfaces, such as some heavily blotched 

 varieties of hawks' eggs, will not show ink plainly, 

 and must be written upon with white paint, a finely 

 pointed sliver answering well the purpose of a brush. 

 Never trust to gummed labels; they are liable to 

 come off — even when stuck on by a single comer 

 with coaguline ! 



Eggs are measured in two directions — their great- 

 est length and greatest width. To do this, ordinary 



