and Laboratory Methods. 1339 



CURRENT ZOOLOGICAL LITERATURE. 



Charles A. Kofoid. 



Books and separates of papers on zoological subjects should be sent for review to 

 Charles A. Kofoid, University of California, Berkeley, California. 



Fulleborn, Dr. Ueber Formalinconservierung. After several years' experience in col- 

 Zool.Anz. 24: 42-46, 1901. lecting in temperate regions and the 



tropics, Dr. Fulleborn gives his unqualified approval of formalin as a preserva- 

 tive of zoological material. Its portability, cheapness, ease of application, and 

 its qualities as a preservative for histological purposes, combine to commend it 

 for use in preference to alcohol on collecting expeditions. Large objects for 

 anatomical work should be hardened in 5-10 per cent, formalin for 8-14 days. 

 For transportation, objects thus hardened may be packed in excelsior moistened 

 in formalin, in zinc cases which are soldered up when filled. These zinc cases 

 are made up in sizes which "nest" readily for transportation into the field. 

 Large fish should be opened along the ventral side and along the vertebral 

 column, or the skin should be freed from the musculature in places and a wad- 

 ding saturated in formalin thrust beneath it. Small fish may be thrown into the 

 formalin solution or injected in the digestive tract. Formalin is especially recom- 

 mended for fish whose scales are easily rubbed off. Large fish kept for six 

 years in formalin, in relatively weak solutions, are still in a state of excellent 

 preservation. 



As a preservative of natural colors, formalin has not fulfilled the high hopes 

 which it first called forth. Dr. Fulleborn reports that it preserved color well in 

 some tropical Amphibia, and in many other instances specimens reached European 

 museums from the tropics in unfaded condition. On the other hand, the iridescent 

 colors of fishes fade as quickly in formalin as they do in alcohol. The brilliant 

 pearly sheen found on certain beetles was preserved in specimens in formalin, 

 though it faded at once in dried and in alcoholic material. The egg-masses of 

 Necturus with their gelatinous coverings have kept well in formalin, the form, the 

 eggs, and transparency of the membranes remaining unchanged. Tropical 

 plankton was preserved in 2-5 per cent, formalin, the algae retaining the green 

 color of the chlorophyll and the smaller Entomostraca keeping their natural form 

 as a rule. Some species, however, are distorted by the formalin. 



Small birds were mummified by injecting a solution of 5-10 per cent, forma- 

 lin saturated with sodium arsenate with a hypodermic syringe into the thoracic 

 and abdominal regions, the musculature of the breast and shoulders, the eyes, 

 and the brain (through the orbit). Injections should not be made between the 

 musculature and skin. The small openings made by the syringe do not permit 

 the fluid to escape and soil the feathers, if care is taken in handling the birds. 

 This fluid is to be preferred to 15 per cent, carbolic acid, sometimes used in 

 mummifying birds, since it does not destroy the color of the feathers wet by it. 

 Large birds may be treated (in addition to the injection) by removing the 

 viscera and packing the body cavity with wadding saturated with the injecting 



