CHAPTER II. 



LABELLING AND MOUNTING SPECIMENS. 



IT is on these two points, labelling and mounting, that 

 much of the instructiveness of a museum or collection de- 

 pends. The labelling conveys the information regarding 

 the specimen, while the mounting places the specimen in the 

 best position for observation and study. 



LABELLING. 



The labels used should, in size, be in proportion not only 

 to the size and prominence of the specimen, but also in re- 

 lation to the amount of information to be conveyed. It is 

 best to have but few sizes and to have a certain amount of 

 regularity in the labels employed. The most useful size is 

 one inch by two and one-half inches, but larger and smaller 

 ones must be occasionally used and the sizes of these must be 

 selected by those in charge of the collections. The smallest, 

 except those for insects, should measure not less than one- 

 half by one and one-half inches. For insects a label of one- 

 half by three-fourths of an inch is very useful. The labels 

 of whatever size employed should be as plain as possible and 



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