100 RAMBLES OF A NATURALIST. 



them too long before they were done, but they are more 

 susceptible to the attacks of insects than skins. The 

 7nodits operandi is as follows, First break in the keel of 

 the breastbone. Then cut with your long-handled, sharp- 

 pointed scissors from the posterior margin to the vent, and 

 after applying plaster of paris freely, squeeze out the entrails 

 by pressing on the back with the thumb. Then remove 

 lungs and heart, and stop up the cavity with acid and 

 wool. Half a teaspoonful is enough for a Dunlin, which is 

 as large a bird as you can safely do. It then only remains 

 to put a quarter of a teaspoonful down the mouth, and the 

 bird is done. 



The crystallized carbolic is best, as that is undiluted. It 

 must not be exposed to heat or light, or it will become 

 liquid and lose a portion of its strength. 



Great care is necessary not to drop any on the fingers. It 

 hardens the flesh and takes away the sense of touch, or it 

 may produce an ulcer. The antidote is to wash it off im- 

 mediately, and steep the part in oil. The " Collector's 

 Vade Mecum," by Mr. Hume, gives a still graver caution. 

 " Remember," says the author, " that the smallest drop of 

 the acid in the eye permanently destroys the eyesight." 

 This useful brochure gives full instructions for preparing 

 birds by carbolic acid and other means. I ought to say 

 that though birds preserved with it can be skinned after- 

 wards, they are a great deal of trouble, and never look well. 



Beasts. 



There is no large game on the Nile, except Crocodiles 

 and a few Gazelle. A small herd of the latter inhabit the 

 desert at Gow, where we saw them in the up voyage, and 

 again in the down voyage. Hyenas are said to exist, and 

 at the Memnonium I saw a beast one night which I was 

 told was a Wolf Jackals cannot be very common, as I 



