COLLECTING SKELETONS. 279 



FISHES. This subject has been treated in Chapter IX. (Col- 

 lecting Fishes). 



SKELETONIZING CETACEANS. The rough skeleton of a cetacean 

 -porpoise, blackfish, whale, and the like is the bloodiest, 

 greasiest, nastiest specimen the collector ever "has to prepare. 

 Nevertheless, they are necessary evils, and fortunately their 

 structure is so simple that their roughing out is not a difficult 

 matter. The vertebral column terminates in a point, there being 

 no bones in the flukes of the tail, or the dorsal fin. The best 

 way to operate is to split the body open along the middle of 

 the back all the way from head to tail, and carve the flesh away 

 until you reach the vertebral column, and after that the ribs. 



The vertebral column must be cut in two in two or more 

 places, according to its size. Midway between the last pair of 

 ribs and the tail, and underneath the vertebral column, lie two 

 very useless and absurd little ossifications known as the pelvic 

 bones. They are called pelvic bones because that happens to 

 be a handy name. They bear about as much resemblance to a 

 genuine pelvis as a cigarette does to a locomotive. They are 

 so small that it takes an expert with a search-warrant to find 

 them, and, for my part, I always consider their loss a real gain 

 to the cause of science. Of course the scapula and flipper, the 

 ribs and the sternum, must each in turn be cut away, cleaned 

 as well as possible, and bundled up to go with the head and the 

 three sections of the vertebral column. 



PACKING SKELETONS. All rough skeletons, skulls, etc. (as well 

 as all skins) must be thoroughly dry when packed, or they will 

 sweat, soften up, smell offensively, and spoil any dry skins, or 

 other perishable objects that may be packed with them. Skele- 

 tons should always be packed in tight boxes, so that rats and 

 mice cannot get into them and gnaw the small bones. Tie 

 some soft material over the teeth of separate skulls to save 

 them from getting broken. Put the largest skeletons and 

 skulls at the bottom, and use hay, straw, or excelsior for filling. 

 Of course the small and fragile specimens will be put in the 

 protected corners and crevices between the larger objects, and, 

 as before remarked, dry skeletons that have been made up into 

 compact bundles will stand a very considerable amount of 

 pressure without breaking. 



