THE PRACTICAL NATURALIST, 
53 
however, innumerable tadpoles of the frog and newt in all stages 
of development, also beetles, dragonfly larvae, fresh water 
shrimps, &c., in abundance; and—what I never saw before— 
caddis cases made up entirely of young shells of Paludina , 
some of them alive. 
Having filled our boxes with shells, and our shoes with water 
and mud, we returned to where we had left our machines. We 
found them with the lads solemnly sitting in a semicircle around 
them, watching them intently, as if they half feared they would 
start up and run away of their own accord. We made the 
young urchins happy with; the munificent donation of a half¬ 
penny each, and then mounted and returned home well satisfied 
with our success. % 
32, Woodbine Road , Burnley. F. C. Long. 
THE PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
COLLECTING AND PRESERVING BIRDS’ EGGS 
AND NESTS. 
By H. T. Booth. 
( Continued from page 43 .) 
Having blown your egg you can now proceed to label it if 
} t ou choose, or to write the name on (in ink) instead. The latter 
is decidedly the best, as there is no fear of labels becoming loose 
and dropping off ; collectors should endeavour to write upon 
each and every egg they take, as follows :— (a) the scientific 
name of the species, (b) the locality, (e) the date, and (d) the 
initials of the collector’s name. This once done there is never 
any difficulty afterwards in recognising an egg, and if a number 
is attached relating to a note in his journal it will greatly facil¬ 
itate complete identification. Eggs can be kept almost in any 
box, whether wood, tin, cardboard, or what-not, so long as they 
are pretty well protected by wool. The worst possible plan a 
collector can adopt is to expose them to the light in a glass 
topped case. There is no doubt about a properly constructed 
cabinet being the correct thing for keeping eggs in ; but I don’t 
favour partitioned drawers. I would rather have the drawer 
clear of all obstructions so that the eggs could be arranged in 
their proper positions, which is an impossibility where partitions 
are used. In cabinets, neatly printed labels with particulars 
can be pinned down in front of each egg and they look decidedly 
neat. 
