Few objects of natural history are more interesting than the nests of birds. To the reflecting naturalist they open up a wide field for inquiry. Speaking of the examination of birds, in the exercise of their mechanical arts of constructing nests, Professor Rennie says: "This work is the business of their lives - the duty which calls forth that wonderful ingenuity which no experience can teach, and which no human skill can rival. The infinite variety of modes in which the nests of birds are constructed, and the exquisite adaptation of the nest to the peculiar habits of the individual, offer a subject of almost exhaustless interest." The number and variety of the eggs of birds are curious subjects of contemplation, and should be carefully noted whenever opportunity offers. They are as essential to the personal history of the species, as any other part of our inquiries. The eggs are emptied of their contents by making a very small hole at each end with a point. By blowing at one of the ends, the contents will escape by the other, unless the young has been already formed; in which case a larger hole must be made in the side of the egg, and the contents removed with a small hook. The hole should then be stopped up by pasting a little goldbeater's leaf over it. The eggs are then either returned to their nest, in which they ought to be cemented, or should be fixed down by one side to cards, with the name and locality attached.

The best manner of conveying loose eggs to a distance, is to put some cotton at the bottom of the nest, and then another layer above them. The nests should all be put in separate boxes if possible, and so packed that the pressure of the lid may not injure the eggs, or a box with several compartments should be used, taking care that each is carefully marked. It would also be of consequence to have the nests attached to the branches, with those species which build on trees, which will enable us to trace the ingenious means employed by those little animals in constructing their habitations. In sending home specimens from a foreign country, the seams of the box should be covered by pitched cloth to protect them from the influence of moisture.

To preserve the shells of eggs, first take care to clear them of their contents; get a small, fine-pointed common syringe, such as is sold in toy-shops for a penny or twopence, and inject the specimen with water until it comes out quite clean. When an egg has been partly hatched or addled, the removal of the contents generally includes that of the internal membrane or pellicle; this makes the shell weaker. When the specimens are quite clean internally, and have become dry (which will be in a day or two), take the syringe and inject them with a strong solution of isinglass (with a little sugar-candy added to prevent its cracking); blow this out again whilst warm. Let the shell get dry, and then wash the outside with a soft wet cloth to remove saline particles, dirt from the nest, etc. This method varnishes the inside, and the first specimen on which it has been tried was the before-mentioned hedge-accentor's egg, which is to this day as bright in color as a fresh specimen.

Also in a pair of nightjar's eggs, of which species the delicate gray tint is particularly evanescent, one was injected in the manner described, and the other was not; in the first the gray is still perfectly defined, in the other it has entirely disappeared. Eggs which have lost their internal pellicle become strengthened by this process, and those which have not lost their color greatly improved.