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The Collection of Fishes 159 
How to Preserve Fishes.—Fishes must be permanently pre- 
served in alcohol. Dried skins are far from satisfactory, except 
as a choice of difficulties in the case of large species. 
Dr. Gunther thus describes the process of skinning fishes: 
“Scaly fishes are skinned thus: With a strong pair of scissors 
an incision is made along the median line of the abdomen from 
the foremost part of the throat, passing on one side of the base 
of the ventral and anal fins to the root of the caudal fin, the 
cut being continued upward to the back of the tail close to 
the base of the caudal. The skin of one side of the fish is then 
severed with the scalpel from the underlying muscles to the 
median line of the back; the bones which support the dorsal 
and caudal are cut through, so that these fins remain attached 
to the skin. The removal of the skin of the opposite side is 
easy. More difficult is the preparation of the head and scapu- 
lary region. The two halves of the scapular arch which have 
been severed from each other by the first incision are pressed 
toward the right and left, and the spine is severed behind the 
head, so that now only the head and shoulder bones remain 
attached to the skin. These parts have to be cleaned from 
the inside, all soft parts, the branchial and hyoid apparatus, 
and all smaller bones being cut away with the scissors or scraped 
off with the scalpel. In many fishes which are provided with 
a characteristic dental apparatus in the pharynx (Labroids, 
Cyprinoids), the pharyngeal bones ought to be preserved and 
tied with a thread to their specimen. The skin being now 
prepared so far, its entire inner surface as well as the inner side 
of the head are rubbed with arsenical soap; cotton-wool or 
some other soft material is inserted into any cavities or hol- 
lows, and finally a thin layer of the same material is placed 
between the two flaps of the skin. The specimen is then dried 
under a slight weight to keep it from shrinking. 
“The scales of some fishes, as for instance of many kinds of 
herrings, are so delicate and deciduous that the mere handling 
causes them to rub off easily. Such fishes may be covered 
with thin-paper (tissue paper is the best) which is allowed to 
dry on them before skinning. There is no need for removing 
the paper before the specimen has reached its destination. 
“Scaleless fishes, as siluroids and sturgeons, are skinned in 
