51 
Collections of the University of Cambridge . 
Special mention should he made of the Dinornithidse, Aha impennis , 
Pezophaps, and Didus Gallinula nesiutis, Aphanapteryx , Erythro - 
machus and Diaphorapteryx, Lophopsittacus and other subfossils from 
Mauritius ; Funingus, Glaucopis, Turnagra, Clitonyx, and Miro ; not 
to mention numerous preparations illustrative of special structures, 
development, degeneration, the inheritance of acquired characters, 
convergence, &c. 
C. —Eggs. 
There are several collections of Eggs and a considerable number of 
Nests. 
I. The ‘ Ootheca Wvlleynna ’ has 6076 paragraphs or entries of eggs, 
comprising from 1 to 36 (cf. § 4875, Guillemot) specimens each, 
mostly more than 2, so that the total number surpasses with 
certainty 12,000, and probably approaches 20,000 specimens. 
However, anyone who thinks the correct number important 
enough and worth his time, may count them himself in the well- 
printed Catalogue. In reality there are a good many more 
specimens in the Egg-cabinets than are mentioned in the 
‘ Ootheca ’; perhaps these were intended for duplicates. Most of 
the eggs have been written upon, and every one contains at least 
a u v. p.” and a number. The number refers to a page in the 
twelve MS. volumes, which are nothing less than Newton’s 
Egg-Diary, begun in the year 1843 and ending, with consecutive 
pagination, in February 1907, a few months before his death. 
Comparatively few of this vast number of eggs have yet been 
properly arranged. Newton, knowing them almost individually, 
alone knew where to find them in the cabinets, and they were, 
until recently, his private property. 
II. Besides the eggs catalogued in the ‘ Ootheca Wolleyana ,’ Newton 
made a collection of those of birds outside the PalBearctic region. 
He, however, did not pay much attention to it. The eggs, many 
of them decidedly rare, were accepted as they happened to 
come in, were registered in the Egg-diary and then put away. 
Altogether there may be about 2500 specimens in this u General 
Collection.” 
To tell the truth, Newton never cared much about eggs from a 
scientific point of view, and he told me more than once that he 
did not think that much could be got out of their study; in 
short, that it was not a “ logy,” as it did not lend itself to deduc¬ 
tive conclusions, and that the systematic value of eggs was very 
limited. “ You cannot state upon oath what kind a given egg 
is, unless you have seen the mother bird fly off, and that is but 
circumstantial evidence.” The interesting correlations between 
eggs, nests, and environment did not appeal to him, because of 
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