302 TABLES OF CONSTANTS OF NATURE AND ART. 



The capital letters at the head of the preceding table refer: P. to the pectoral fin ; V. to 

 the ventral ; D. to the dorsal ; A. to the anal ; C. to the caudal ; and the blanks after 

 each are to be filled up with the number of bony rays in each fin. 



The unit of measure h considered to be the total length of the fish divided into 100 

 equal parts. All the dimensions may be given in terms of this unit. In order to obtaia 

 the number of hundredths of the total length of the fish in any given amount, it is only 

 necessary to use the total length in inches and hundredths as a constant denominator. 

 Thus, in a fish 7, 35 inches long, a height of 2. 55 inches would be_f^|, or about . 35 of the 

 total length. 



The most important measurements for birds are: the length from 

 point of bill to end of tail, the distance between the tips of the out- 

 stretched wings, and the distance from the first or carpal joint to the 

 end of the longest primary quill. These should always be taken 

 before skinning, and recorded on the label; other important measure- 

 ments which can be taken from the dried specimen, however, are, the 

 length of the bill along the upper edge and along the cleft of the 

 mouth, the length of the tarsus, and the length of the longest and 

 shortest tail feathers. The colors of the iris, the inside of the mouth, 

 the bill and the feet, may also be recorded to advantage, especially 

 the first mentioned. 



[The physical tables now in process of stereotyping, which have 

 been prepared under the direction and at the expense of the Smith- 

 sonian Institution by Professor Guyot, will form a part of the impor- 

 tant work proposed in this article.] 



