Birds. 2187 



in gratitude as to wish to throw it aside, like a useless piece of old iron. On the con- 

 trary, I find labels indispensable, in their proper place, which is, to be affixed not to 

 the eggs, but to the compartments made in the cabinet drawers for the reception of 

 each species of eggs. As regards labelling the eggs of a collection, I confess myself to 

 have utterly failed in my repeated efforts to reconcile a label one inch or more in 

 length with an egg less than half that size ; and. I still doubt whether any one has 

 yet found the secret of making labels tit in all cases the eggs for which they are in- 

 tended. A label, whether used as a swathing-band around an egg, or fixed on to it 

 in its length, either effectually spoils the look of many eggs, or envelopes the smaller 

 ones altogether : so that a drawer containing the eggs of the Sylvise, Fringillae, and 

 other small birds, thus treated, would present a very singular appearance : whereas if 

 the compartments be labelled, and the eggs be tickelted only, the ticket, being affixed to 

 the under side of the egg, is not seen ; and the eggs look, when placed in their several 

 compartments, previously labelled and made ready for them, exactly as they did in the 

 nest in which they were laid. After several attempts at different arrangements, I 

 have found that the eggs of all the British birds may be conveniently contained in a 

 cabinet of twelve drawers. Each drawer measures 18 inches in length, 16 inches in 

 width, and. 4 inches in depth, in the clear, and is divided into a number of compart- 

 ments, which vary in their dimension according to the number and size of the eggs 

 laid by the species of birds to be contained in the drawer ; e. g., drawer 1 contains 

 the Eapaces Diurn®, and is divided into twenty-four compartments ; drawer 3, in 

 which are arranged theInsectivora3,is divided into fifty-eight compartments ; drawer 9, 

 for some of the ducks, into sixteen such divisions ; and so on with the rest. Each drawer 

 then is labelled inside with the name of the order or orders to be contained in it ; each 

 compartment is labelled with the name of the species for which it is intended ; and if it be 

 the first species of the genus, the compartment bears also the name and number of the 

 genus, printed in larger letters than the name of the species ; and each egg is ticketted 

 and numbered, and thus secured against the possibility of its being mistaken for some 

 other species, by being accidentally mixed up with other eggs. The above method of 

 arranging a collection has proved, and proves daily, to be the most convenient, both 

 for study and for the appearance it presents to the eye. The compartments being 

 lined with the whitest cotton wool, prevents the eggs from getting injured by a jerk of 

 the drawer, and sets off their colour to the best advantage. In fact, the difficulty lies 

 not in working so simple a " machine," but, as I find it at least, in getting " fuel " for 

 it : I mean, in obtaining well-authenticated specimens, which may be ticketted in 

 confidence, and then placed in the " nests " previously labelled and made ready for 

 them. In conclusion, I beg leave to add that the round paper tickets alluded to in 

 the Introduction to the Catalogue, which measure one, two, or three eighths of an inch 

 in diameter, may be made by thousands in less than an hour's time, with a patent screw 

 puncheon. Specimens of these tickets may be had gratis, by applying either to Mr. 

 Van Voorst or to myself. — S. C. Malan; Broadwindsor , June 15, 1848. 



[I have sincere pleasure in printing these observations : I trust that this act, as 

 well as my reprinting (Zool. 2133) all that the author has written in favour of his pro- 

 ject, will show that I am guided by the spirit of fairness alone. — E. N.~\ 



Some Notes on the Birds of Shetland. — We went out very early in the morning of 

 the 13th of May, intending to go to some of the outer islands in search of eider ducks,, 

 &c, with a light breeze against us, but as we proceeded it kept increasing, and the 

 sea getting up very fast, by the time we got half-way we thought it prudent to turn 



