2 INTRODUCTION. 
various mammals will be found cited in the references 
to Chapters III and IV, which may be consulted with 
advantage by senior students. 
Preparation of Spectmens.— To obtain perfect 
skeletons or parts of skeletons, the larger portion of 
flesh, &c., should be carefully dissected away. The 
part should then be placed in water to macerate for a 
time; after which any remaining portions of the flesh 
may be brushed away by a small brush with stiff 
bristles : they should then be well washed and bleached 
by exposure to sunlight. During the process of 
bleaching, which will take two or three weeks, the 
bones should be repeatedly rinsed with water. 
When sections of a bone or series of bones, such 
as the skull, are required, a fine saw should be used. 
Young skulls it is best to imbed in a matrix of plaster 
of Paris, as the sutures have not anchylosed, and the 
parts are apt to fall away. In making longitudinal 
sections, the skull should be cut slightly to the left of 
the median line, so as not to damage the mesethmoid 
or vomer. If microscopic sections are required, either 
of the following methods should be adopted : 
1.—The method I prefer for decalcification is to 
soak the bones in a solution of nitric acid and alcohol, 
three parts of nitric to seventy parts of alcohol ; in this 
solution they are allowed to remain for several days, 
or weeks, according to their size and age. Sections 
should be stained in a weak aqueous solution of eosin 
