BIRDS' NESTS, EGGS, AND EGG- 

 COLLECTma 



mTEODUCTION. 



The Problem of Preservation. — As a rule the 

 first subject to which the young naturalist turns his at- 

 tention is the most interesting one within his reach, and 

 that subject is undoubtedly found in bird-life ; particu- 

 larly that portion of it which concerns the nests, eggs, 

 young, and various modes of nidification, for this is 

 really the kernel of ornithology. Its details teach him 

 the utility of systematic study and close observation, two 

 important points in all matters of scientific research. 



It is my intention in the following pages to furnish 

 as full and interesting particulars on Oology, which may 

 fairly be entitled to the dignity of a science, as can be 

 found, or is likely to be required, in any popular treatise of 

 its modest compass. 



This particular branch of natural history has been 

 until lately but indifferently studied — ^in fact, considered 

 unworthy of higher attention than that which could be 

 bestowed upon it by schoolboys. People have been content 

 to know that the wonderful architecture and mechanism 

 of a bird's nest was the outcome of a force vaguely known 

 as instinct, without taking the trouble to discover its 

 workings, extent, or limits. 



