170 How To Make Fish Mounts 



water temperature, air temperature, current, tide, and time of 

 day. Obviously, recording these facts is not necessary for 

 amateur display specimens. However, I strongly recommend 

 that camp counselors, scout leaders, and teachers meticulously 

 employ this procedure with their students, for this presents an 

 unusual opportunity to teach children to observe. And intel- 

 ligent observation is the bases of every science. 



But let's get back to the display jars. Regardless of the dif- 

 ferent sizes and shapes of the "store jars," the collection can be 

 unified by painting all the jar tops one color. A bright color 

 will detract from the specimens; paint them black. 



Organization of Fish Exhibits 



The display collection may contain many fine specimens, but 

 it will lose most of its value if it is just a bunch of jars on a shelf. 

 Here again, regardless of the persons involved or the type of 

 the collection, scientific principles can be employed. Divide the 

 fish into groups which will denote some type of classification 

 that is easily understood: for example, a group of game fishes, 

 a group of minnows, a group of bottom living fishes, etc. Or 

 they may be divided into stream fishes and lake fishes, or fishes 

 that can be taken bv angling with a flv, those that will take 

 spoons or plugs, and those that will take only bait. 



Individual lessons in biology can be taught easily by intel- 

 ligent display of preserved fishes. For example, have two jars 

 side by side, one with a male trout and the other enclosing a 

 female trout. Place the heads in the middle of the jars, against 

 the glass, so that the smooth head and jaws of female can be 

 compared easily with the angular, irregular jaws of the male. 

 Cut the heads off a largemouth bass and a smallmouth bass and 

 display them in individual jars. This exhibit will show that 

 one is distinguished from the other by the length of the maxilla 

 or upper lip which goes beyond the eve in the largemouth. This 

 kind of exhibit is a lesson in observing anatomy more closely- 



The fish exhibition in anv amateur museum need not end 

 with the collection of preserved local fishes. On the contrary, 



