that could I devise a machine for the purpose it would be a great boon to collectors.
My first attempt was with a large india-rubber syringe attached to a blow-pipe by a tube; but I found that it did not always contain sufficient air to empty the egg. I then substituted a kitchen-bellows for the syringe, but besides being clumsy it frequently broke the egg, from the handle requiring so much pressure that it moved the blow-pipe. I then procured a cylindrical bellows, shown in the engraving, and find it answers admirably, as it works very steadily, and it is easy with this to regulate the pressure of the air to the size of the egg.
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The blow-pipe (a) is held in a groove by two small buttons, so that whilst firmly fixed it can easily be removed for cleaning should it get stopped up. b is the tubing connecting the pipe with the bellows (c), which is supplied with air through a hole (d) in the wooden stand to which it is fixed. When travelling, the space e is fitted with a box for the drills, &c. For greater steadiness a block of lead weighing about two pounds is placed in the space under the bellows, or the latter can be fixed to the table by means of a small clamp. A small wooden stand is used as a rest for the left hand while holding the egg.
On the subject of drilling I should have had no remarks to offer had I not learned from Mr. Seebohm that he used a carpenter's spiral drill for eggs, which he fixed in a horizontal position. Fig. 2 shows a small appliance which I have adapted for this purpose. It is held in a vice, and is fitted with a drill,
