6o 



i'he Hawkeye Ornithologist and Ooj.ogist. 



oases referring to the page of the 

 collector's note-book, wherein full de- 

 tails may be found, and the words or 

 letters preceding the number serving 

 to distinguish between different col- 

 lectors, no two of whom ought to 

 employ the same. (The initial letter 

 of the collector's name, prefixed to 

 the number, will often be sufficient.) 



PREPARATION OF SPECIMENS. 



Eggs are emptied, with the least 

 amount of trouble, at one hole, which 

 should be drilled in the side with 

 an instrument called the egg- 

 drill. The hole should, of course, be 

 proportioned to the size of the egg 

 and the amount of incubation it has 

 undergone. Eggs that are hard sat 

 upon are more easily blown by being 

 kept a few days, but the operation 

 must not be deferred too long, or 

 they are apt to burst violently imme- 

 diately upon being punctured, 

 though this may be avoided by hold- 

 ing them under water white the first 

 incision is made. The hole being 

 drilled/the lining membrane should 

 bs cleared away from the orifice with 

 a small penknife, by which means 

 not only is the removal of the con- 

 tents, but ttie subsequent cleansing 

 of the specimen facilitated. The 

 small end of a blowpipe should then 

 be introduced, while the other ex- 

 tremity is applied to the mouth and 

 blown through, at first very gently.. 

 If the embryo is found to be moder- 

 ately developed, a stream of water 

 should be introduced by means of , a 

 syringe, arid the egg then gently 

 shaken, after which the blowpipe 

 may again be resorted to, until by 

 the ultimate use of both instruments, 

 aided by scissors, hooks, knives and 

 forceps, the contents are completely 

 emptied. After this the egg should 

 bs tilled with water from the syringe, 

 shaken, and blown out, -which 

 process is to be repeated until its in- 

 terior is completely cleansed, when it 

 should be laid upon a pad of blotting 

 paper or fine cloth, with the hole 

 downwards, its position on the pad 

 or cloth being occasionally changed, 

 until it is perfectly dry. During- this 



time it should be kept as much as 

 possible from the light, especially 

 from the sunshine, as the colors ' are 

 then more liable to fade than at any 

 subsequent time. In the case of very 

 small eggs, when fresh, the contents 

 may be sucked out by means of a 

 bulbed tube, and the interior after- 

 wards rinsed out as before. It is al- 

 ways advisable, as far as possible, to 

 avoid wetting the outside of the shell 

 as the action of water is apt to re- 

 move the "bloom," affect the color, 

 and in some cases alter the crystali-, 

 zation of the shell. Consequently 

 dirt stains or dung spots should never 

 be removed. While emptying the 

 contents, it is well to hold the egg 

 over a basin of water, to avoid break- 

 age in case of its slipping from the 

 fingers. Eggs that are very hard sat 

 upon, of whatever size they may be, 

 should be treated in tire manner de- 

 tailed in "Concluding Observations," 

 in next issue, which is a method su- 

 perior to any other known at present 

 to the writer for preventing injury 

 arising to them. Should the yolk of 

 the egg be dried up. a small portion 

 of carbonate of suda may 'be intro- 

 duced (but with great care that it 

 does not touch the outer surface of 

 the shell, in which case the color is 

 likely to be affected) and then the 

 egg filled with water from the syr- 

 inge, and left to stand a few hours 

 with the hole uppermost, after which 

 the contents are found to be soluble 

 arid are easily removed by the blow- 

 pipe, assisted by one of the hooks, 

 it is almost unnecessary to add, ex- 

 cept for the benefit ut beginners, that 

 the manipulation of the different in- 

 struments requires extreme caution, 

 but a few trials will give the collect- 

 or the practice necessary for suc- 

 cess. Those who may still prefer to 

 blow eggs by means of two holes are 

 particularly requested not to make 

 them at tlie ends of the eggs, nor on op- 

 posite sides, but on the same side. In 

 this case the hole nearest the smaller 

 end of the egg should be the smallest 

 and the contents blown out at the 

 other. If the holes are made at the 

 ends of , the eggs, it not only very 

 much injures their appearance as 

 cabinet specimens, but also prevents 

 their exact dimensions from being as- 

 certained accurately; and if they are 

 made at opposite sides, the extent of 

 the "show surface" is thereby less- 

 ened. 



[TO BE CONT.rat!ED. 1 



