THE MUSEUM. 



239 



CELTS (^). 



manila or writing-paper the name of 

 the place where the fish were taken, 

 the date of capture, and the name of 

 the collector. Put a label of this kind 

 inside of each bottle; it will remain 

 legible for years. 



6. Each specimen should be pro- 

 vided with a numbered tin tag, which 

 is to be fastened, whenever possible, 

 by means of a string passed through 

 the right gill-opening and out at the 

 mouth. When the string viiist be tied 

 around the body or tail of the fish it 

 should be fixed securely and yet with- 

 out injuring any of the fins. A cata- 

 logue is to be kept by the collector, 

 in which the numbers corresponding 

 with those on the tags must be entered, 

 with notes as to place, time, and mode 

 of capture, and other particulars which 

 will be more fully mentioned further 

 on. Wrap each fish separately in 

 common coarse muslin (the coarser 

 the better), and tie the ends securely. 

 Do not tie the string so tightly around 

 the body of the fish as to make fur- 

 rows and wrinkles in the skin. If tin 

 tags are not at hand, a label written 

 firmly on stout paper with a lead-pen- 

 cil should be wrapped inside of the 

 covering of the fish. It is necessary 

 always to fill the receptacle in which 



specimens are packed — a bottle or jar 

 may be either filled with alcohol or 

 the specimens may be wrapped in mus- 

 lin. It is not a good plan to put tow, 

 excelsior, or cotton-wool on top of 

 fish, as it presses them close together 

 and prevents the free circulation of 

 alcohol between them. For long 

 journeys it is desirable to secure bet- 

 ter protection than the muslin wrap- 

 ping alone affords. This may be gain- 

 ed by placing beds of excelsior or thin 

 wood shavings between the layers of 

 fish and at the bottom and top of the 

 case. 



A plainly-written card placed at 

 the top of the box, so as to be seen 

 when the lid is removed, telling its 

 contents and by whom it was sent, 

 will save much trouble when the col- 

 lection is to be unpacked. 



7. Notes of color, taken from the 

 fresh specimens should be sent with 

 them if the fish are to be described in 

 the museum. The collector should 

 also preserve in his own books a rec- 

 ord of life colors under the catalogue 

 numbers corresponding with the tin 

 tags fastened on his fish. He can 

 then obtain the identification of his 

 species by their numbers and publish 

 his studies upon them at his own pleas- 

 ure. 



