74 TAXIDERMY AND ZOOLOGICAL COLLECTING. 



ations. These parasites often furnish a clue to the migration of 

 the fish ; remove them if they can be taken off entire ; if not, let 

 them remain, and call attention to their presence in your ship- 

 ping notes. Preserve the parasites in vials or bottles, and pro- 

 vide them with labels, stating 1 from what fish they came, and in 

 what situation they were found." 



Many fishes when taken from the water have the entire body 

 and gills covered with a coat of persistent mucus that can be 

 removed only by determined effort. If you have any alum at 

 hand, you can in a moment make up a pint or quart of alum- 

 water, which will cut the mucus instantly, and clear it off. Use a 

 stiff brush a large tooth-brush is the best thing in. cleaning off 

 this mucus, and do not forget to cleanse the gills thoroughly. 



Open the abdominal region of every fish by making a gener- 

 ous cut from the vent straight forward toward the ventral fins. 

 Usually the length of the opening should be equal to about 

 one-fifth of the entire length of the fish. If the fish be a largo 

 one, it has always been my practice to open the fleshy interior 

 still farther by working through this cut, and detaching the skin 

 from the flesh as far up each side as possible. This gives the 

 spirits immediate access to the entire mass of flesh, and the re- 

 sult is very speedy and perfect preservation without any change 

 whatever in the form or weight of the specimen. 



Dr. Bean always directs that the viscera be preserved, to as- 

 sist in identification, even though it becomes necessary to re- 

 move them from large fishes and preserve them in separate jars. 

 Tv 7 hen there is no particular reason for their preservation, it is a 

 great advantage to remove them and throw them away. They 

 are unless of scientific value an abominable nuisance, and do 

 more to spoil good alcohol than all the rest of the fish. 



Fishes that have begun to decompose, and have become offen- 

 sive, yet are too valuable to throw away, may be disinfected by 

 washing them inside and out with a moderately weak solution 

 of pure carbolic acid and water, or with a solution made by dis- 

 solving a tablespoonful of chloride of soda in a pint of water. 



For years a very common formula for preservative alcohol has 

 been ninety-five per cent, alcohol diluted with one-third of its 

 bulk of water, or, in other words, three parts of alcohol and one 

 of water. If there is any fault to be found with this solution, it 



