304 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERT. 



tarsus, and so on through the neck to the forehead, and another 

 wire through the other foot to any point in the back or breast 

 where the end of the wire catches firmly. Papers or strings for 

 keeping the feathers in place should remain long. Some shrink- 

 ing about the head and neck will eventually follow in the case of 

 many birds, particularly those of the smallest size, or of scanty or 

 close plumage ; but in other instances no shrinking whatever can 

 be noticed after more than a year of drying. The cabinet in 

 which they have been set up is made insect-proof by means of 

 pasted cloth and paper, putty and paint, 15 inches passage-way 

 being left in front of the shelves, and the only access being 

 through a tight door at one end, fastened by a screw. 



" Travellers, who desire to collect a large number of birds for 

 comparison, will find this method one of great advantage ; and 

 the specimens will be better for study than skins, inasmuch as the 

 proportions will be better preserved. Small mammals can be 

 kept some days for skinning by a similar process, and an opening 

 into the brain may be made through the roof of the mouth, if pre- 

 ferred. A fox squirrel, so treated, was in good condition for skin- 

 ning after 4 days' preservation, in very warm weather. This, 

 with similar methods of preparing specimens without skinning, 

 has been found of little use in the damp air of the Eastern States." 



