Letters, Extracts, and Notes. 
385 
the egg it was slightly broken, and my brother, who was at 
Dinan in 1895, described the egg to me as being cracked, 
poorly marked, and dirty. 
Early in September last Mr. Henry Stevens, who was staying 
in St. Malo, kindly went with me to Dinan to photograph the 
egg. Upon our arrival we found that the Castle (until 
lately used as a prison) had been restored and made into a 
museum, but not finding many Natural History specimens 
exhibited, we called on the Curator, w 7 ho told us that he 
knew nothing of any Great Auk's egg being in the collection. 
The birds and other animals were so old and badly stuffed that 
they were not worth moving and on the previous afternoon 
had all been stored in an attic at the Hotel de Ville. We 
then called upon the Maire, M. J. Jouanin, who very kindly 
accompanied us to the Hotel de Ville and had the room 
unlocked, and on the floor, amidst a jumble of stuffed birds, 
I found the remains of the Great Auk's egg. 
Mr. Stevens kindly photographed the two largest frag¬ 
ments, 3" x l\' f and 1-| ,/ x l^, and these shew that the egg 
was marked with faint blotches at the larger end. As few of 
the other fragments were so large as a shilling, it was im¬ 
possible to form any idea as to the size or shape of the 
whole egg. 
Yours &c., 
Edward Bidwell. 
Report of the South African Museum for 1909.—The report 
of this important Institution for the year ended 31st December, 
1909, is rather a sad document. The severe measures of 
economy occasioned by the state of the Colonial finances 
have not spared the Museum. The Trustees complain of 
lack of space, insufficiency of staff, and want of funds, and 
shew most plainly that their remarks can be fully justified. 
Nevertheless, some progress has been made under nearly 
every head, especially as regards Vertebrate Paleontology. 
A good addition to the Bird-collection has resulted from the 
visit of Mr. P. C. Keytel, of Cape Town, to the Tristan 
SER. ix.—VOL. v. 
o 
