CARE OF SPECIMENS. 41 



Having decided what kind of museum you will have, 

 the question arises, how to get your specimens. 



The best, because the most profitable and enjoy- 

 able method, is by personal search. This is particu- 

 larly true of the fifth and sixth classes of museums. 

 The same sort of pleasure attends this plan that at- 

 tends the sports of fishing and hunting ; and the same 

 qualities keenness, caution, and patience are devel- 

 oped. The next best plan is by a system of exchanges. 



The worst plan (except stealing) is to buy your 

 specimens. Here, however, an exception must be 

 made if you are making a collection of manufactured 

 articles, or are arranging for a regular course of study. 



Having secured your specimens, they must be pre- 

 pared for the cabinet. Many excellent manuals are 

 published containing full instructions for this prepa- 

 ration. If you can get the advice and example of 

 some competent person, it will be still better. 



For the reception of your treasures, the variety of 

 cases is great. Let security and simplicity be chiefly 

 sought. Boys who are not contented without showy 

 and elaborate cases, seldom make valuable collections. 

 It is not the boy with the fifty-dollar rod that catches 

 the largest trout. 



In arranging specimens, give each the largest prac- 

 ticable space. Do not huddle them. Nearly all kinds 

 of specimens look well set on separate blocks of wood, 

 neatly covered with white paper. Each one thus placed 

 has an individuality obtainable by no other plan. In- 

 sects, eggs, mosses, shells, fossils, and minerals all 

 appear to great advantage in this way. To retain the 

 eggs in position, set each one on a little ball of putty, 

 and press it gently until it forms a little socket for 

 itself. Most oalogists, however, keep eggs in sets in 

 the proper nests. 



Cultivate neat habits. Leave no debris for mother 



