EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 119 



work has been given to the undertaking, and an enormous amount 

 still remains to be done. The root idea is to prepare a collection of 

 every species of British bird. This in itself does not appear a very 

 formidable task, since there are only about 415 different kinds. But 

 it is stipulated also that each bird should be presented at every stage 

 of its existence, from the egg to the adult male and female, and, 

 moreover, should be placed in a scene resembling its natural habitat. 

 This means, of course, that the number of different birds which have 

 to be collected and stuffed amounts not to hundreds but to thousands, 

 and with no two alike. Take, for example, the Yellowhammer. In 

 the first place, Mr. Coburn found a Yellowhammer's nest in a wild 

 rose tree. Then, with incredible patience, he set to work, and patiently 

 reproduced that scene in a case about five feet by three feet, with a 

 depth of two feet six inches. The branches, twigs, and leaves of the 

 tree were all faithfully imitated, and, as twenty-three gross of leaves 

 were required, and each had to go through eleven distinct processes, 

 the task was almost comparable with that of Sisyphus. But when 

 that was finished, the real work had only begun. Just as the would-be 

 cook is instructed first to catch his hare, so Mr. Coburn had to provide 

 himself with Yellowhammers in every stage of development. More- 

 over, the adults vary considerably, so representatives of different types 

 were included. Altogether, fifty specimens were necessary. Then 

 each bird had to be stuffed — and in a collection on the lines indicated 

 this is a matter requiring the most exact knowledge, as well as careful 

 workmanship. Finally came the arrangement of the birds in the 

 case. One nest containing eggs was fixed in the bush. As Yellow- 

 hammers build also on the ground, another nest was placed there, 

 containing young. A bird just out of the nest, with its beak open to 

 receive food from a parent close by, was the next object of attention. 

 Then on the twigs of the bush were displayed the remaining birds in 

 their different stages, and also the adults in characteristic attitudes. 

 When, ultimately, the case was completed, Mr. Coburn had the satis- 

 faction of knowing that he had disposed of one species. 



At the present time forty species have been completed, and material 

 has been collected for more than 250 of the remainder. For some 

 birds — such as the Great Northern Diver — three separate cases are 

 needed, and for the Heron there are two cases, each five feet wide and 

 four feet six inches high. Of course, when the collection is completed 

 it will be absolutely unique. It is declared that it will take abso- 

 lutely the first place in the British ornithological world, easily sur- 

 passing the most famous collections of to-day. Certainly a very large 

 hall — comparable in size with the Birmingham Town Hall'— will be 



