590 Indian Oology. [No. 6. 



denial than among birds engaged in tending their eggs or young. 

 This has ever been a favourite and admired subject with poets and 

 lovers of nature, who will not fail to accept in a far wider sense, 

 than originally attached to them, the lines of Elaccus. 



" Non ferox 

 Hector vel acer Deiphobus graves 

 Excepit ictus pro pudicis 

 Conjugibus puerisque primus." 



At no time too, are more conclusive proofs displayed by the brute 

 creation of intellectual power, than by birds engaged in the duties 

 of incubation. It appears indeed little less than absurd and a mere 

 prejudice, to deny this faculty to the inferior animals, for if reason 

 be denned in terms, their actions in a greater or less degree will be 

 found to fulfil those terms with those of man himself, without doubt 

 unmeasurably the highest in every respect of living forms, but 

 between whom and the humbler inhabitants of the earth, that abso 

 lute gulph does not exist which his pride — his reasoning pride — has 

 induced him to surmise. 



The strong sense of Milton did not fail to see and acknowledge 

 this, for Eve addressing the serpent, says : 



" What may this mean? language of man pronounced 



By tongue of brute, and human sense expressed ? 



The first at least of these I thought denied 



To beasts, whom God on their creation-day 



Created mute to all articulate sound 



The latter I demur, for in their looks 



Much reason, and in their actions, oft appears." 



This passage shewing an acquaintance with and appreciation of 

 the habits of animals, far from common at the time he wrote, affords 

 a pleasing insight into the character of our great poet. 



I shall now offer a few remarks as to the means I have found best, 

 after some failures and losses, for preserving the fragile objects under 

 consideration, in the hope they may prove of some service to other 

 collectors. 



There are three ways which may be adopted for emptying an egg 

 according to its size and the amount of incubation it has received. 

 All eggs when fresh or only slightly incubated may be blown after 



