THE MUSEUM 



21 



taken from the bottle, and the wire 

 removed, are to be placed in a saucer 

 containing alcohol, and gently sepa- 

 rated, to avoid injury to the speci- 

 mens, which are now to receive their 

 final brushing. If we have provided 

 oiirsolves with absolute alcohol, a 

 short immersion in the same, in a 

 watch glass is advantageous, but not 

 absolutely necessary. And now hav- 

 ing poured a small quantity of pure oil 

 of cloves into one of the porcelain nest 

 saucers, we carefully transfer the 

 tongue, feet, etc , to the same; not 

 forgetting the wings i which all this 

 time have lain quietly .in the alcohol, 

 as originally placed, not having needed 

 any of the complicated manipulations , 

 immediately replacing the cover to ex- 

 clude dust. 



It will be observed that I rigorously 

 excluded turpentine in all forms, from 

 my work. I have ever found it a 

 most unsatisfactory medium, foul 

 smelling, sticky, and rendering all tis- 

 sues immersed in it stiff and brittle. 

 Oil of cloves, on the contrary, is in all 

 respects a most admirable medium, 

 rendering all tissues and substances 

 fully as 'clear as turpentine; is agreea- 

 ble to the sense of smell, does not 

 stiffen anything immersed in it, and is 

 perfectly miscible with balsam or 

 damar. 



After this digression, and whilst our 

 specimens are clearing up in the oil, 

 let us see to our glass slips and covers, 

 and to the balsam in which the for- 

 mer are to be mounted. \'cry many 

 processes for cleaning the slips and 

 covers have been given to the world 

 by various writers, and probably they 

 are all good. I give only my own, 

 which I have used for many years, 

 with entire satisfaction, and therefore 

 can 'confidently recomniend it. The 

 slips which should be smooth edgedj, 

 are placed in a basin with hot water 

 and good soap, and wiped dry with a 

 soft towel, after being thoroughly 

 washed and rinsed. They are then 

 placed in a drawer, and are ready for 

 use at future time, merely requiring to 



be brushed off with the large camel's 

 hair pencil when used. The thin 

 covers ('which should cthcttys be circles, 

 and not squares, as making neater and 

 more readily finished mountsi, are 

 chopped one by one in a glass tumbler, 

 containing sulphuric acid, and allowed 

 to remain there for some hours. The 

 acid is then poured off, and water 

 carefully added, which in its turn 

 is decanted and replaced with fresh 

 water, the whole contents of the glass 

 being freely agitated until every trace 

 of the acid is removed. One of the 

 .i:lass pomatum jars is now to be par- 

 tially tilled with alcohol, and the thin 

 covers placed therein to remain until 

 wanted for use, when they can be re- 

 moved with the forceps, and a slight 

 wiping with an old, soft linen handker- 

 chief will leave them brilliantly clean. 

 To be cofitinued. 



The Finches of Southern Califor- 

 nia 



L arpodaais pitrpiirciis californicu!:. 

 {Baird) 



Carpodacns cassini. {Baird) 



Corpodacits iiiexicauiis frontalis. 



{Say) 



I have received so many inquiries 

 from my ornithological correspondents 

 regarding these three species that I 

 have deemed it expedient to answer 

 all queries at once and through that 

 medium which I believe will reach the 

 greater part of those collectors — The 

 Museum. 



My acquaintance with the genus 

 ( (iipodacus began some nine years ago 

 and was with the most numerous spe- 

 cies, the common House Finch or Lin- 

 net. During the years that have pass- 

 ed since that time I have been espec- 

 ially interested in this family and have 

 endeavored in every way to familiar- 

 ise myself with their habits and life- 

 histories. 



If we take them in the order nam- 

 ed by the A. O. U. check-list we find 

 that the least common species, or 

 rather sub-species, is placed first 



